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IceAgeComing posted:Don't know what to think about that: wasn't great but wasn't terrible. My mum liked it and said that it "wasn't as confusing as the other ones were" which I totally didn't get It was a dramatically simpler story. Doctor Goes A Place -> Some Aliens Are There -> He Helps The Locals Defeat Them Using Clever vs causal loops and whatever the dalek one was about
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Oct 17, 2015 21:34
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IceAgeComing posted:What you seem to be implying is that Time and the Rani isn't bollocks, which is objectively wrong No no, that's the starting out bollocks bit!
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Oct 17, 2015 21:36
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I liked bits of it, especially the bits where Capaldi actually got to ACT. (And Maisie Williams got to act. And Jenna Coleman, to some extent, the scene where she almost convinces them to leave was brill) but there was so much stupid it just bothered me. Electric eels do not live in Norway. Vikings didn't wear horned helmets. I'm pretty sure Vikings didn't call themselves Vikings, although that can be handwaved by translation circuits, but why were those still working when it was two days' sail away? If Baby is a language, why cant the TARDIS translate that too? Electromagnets strong enough to do that from that distance would also have been strong enough to rip all the nails out of the roof, not to mention the phone out of the dude's hand. Etc etc etc. The fake CGI snake looked horrible, and it didn't make it much better that it turned out to in fact BE a fake CGI snake in story, because... why were the power armoured laser-wielding strongest warriors in the galaxy SCARED of a snake? Why did Ashildr even need to be in the helmet in the first place, it's not like she had any ability to use the tech. Or was it some kind of mind reading helmet? The whole thing with her dying felt a bit weak and un-foreshadowed, but setting the doctor up as willing to sacrifice her for everyone else felt in keeping with Capaldi's portrayal. Then the finale was just a complete take-back of that whole interesting development. And also, has the Doctor learned NOTHING about what goes wrong when alien battlefield technology goes to work on humans from ARE YOU MY MUMMY for gently caress's sake. It rang too much of spitfires in space and robin hood with laser sheriffs. Either do comedy, in which case don't do dark and serious, or do dark and serious in which case gently caress off with the silly electric eels and so forth. It had its moments, I liked the aliens, both the power armour and the head design, Capaldi's moments of bombast and some of the jokes and character interactions etc. But overall it just had too many moments which broke my suspension of disbelief to actually enjoy it. I was also a bit baffled by TO BE CONTINUED. It was a finished story, albeit setting up what is clearly intended to be a recurring character. The next story isn't *continuing* this one, it's a new story which happens to include this person. Arg.
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Oct 17, 2015 21:44
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thespaceinvader posted:why were the power armoured laser-wielding strongest warriors in the galaxy SCARED of a snake? Why is the dominant life form on this planet scared of spiders/snakes/the dark/goddamn clowns?
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Oct 17, 2015 21:49
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thespaceinvader posted:The fake CGI snake looked horrible 
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Oct 17, 2015 21:51
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The bad CGI snake didn't bother me because its Doctor Who: its meant to have the occasional bad special effect
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Oct 17, 2015 21:54
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Finally, the Doctor Who 2015 CGI buget has caught up to 1996.  thespaceinvader posted:Stuff Some stuff is excusable for the sake of narrative convention...unless you really want to be watching people trying to speak Old Norse for an hour. Or wondering why physics struggles with a eel-powered electro-magnet. The rest of the complaints could just be put down to lazy, inconsistant writing, which is fair enough. Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 22:12 on Oct 17, 2015 |
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Oct 17, 2015 21:56
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All these snakes can only mean one thing..... the Mara is back, baby!
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Oct 17, 2015 21:57
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thespaceinvader posted:I liked bits of it, especially the bits where Capaldi actually got to ACT. (And Maisie Williams got to act. And Jenna Coleman, to some extent, the scene where she almost convinces them to leave was brill) but there was so much stupid it just bothered me. Electric eels do not live in Norway. Vikings didn't wear horned helmets. I'm pretty sure Vikings didn't call themselves Vikings, although that can be handwaved by translation circuits, but why were those still working when it was two days' sail away? If Baby is a language, why cant the TARDIS translate that too? Electromagnets strong enough to do that from that distance would also have been strong enough to rip all the nails out of the roof, not to mention the phone out of the dude's hand. Etc etc etc. What a rubbish set of nitpicks, you can do better than that (especially given that "two days sail away" is nothing in the grand scheme of things, what about the stories where the TARDIS doesn't even appear!) But yeah the last few minutes of the story were clearly setting up [subsequent story] rather than having anything to do with the episode at hand.
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Oct 17, 2015 21:59
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thespaceinvader posted:I liked bits of it, especially the bits where Capaldi actually got to ACT. (And Maisie Williams got to act. And Jenna Coleman, to some extent, the scene where she almost convinces them to leave was brill) but there was so much stupid it just bothered me. Electric eels do not live in Norway. Vikings didn't wear horned helmets. I'm pretty sure Vikings didn't call themselves Vikings, although that can be handwaved by translation circuits, but why were those still working when it was two days' sail away? If Baby is a language, why cant the TARDIS translate that too? Electromagnets strong enough to do that from that distance would also have been strong enough to rip all the nails out of the roof, not to mention the phone out of the dude's hand. Etc etc etc. The fake CGI snake looked horrible, and it didn't make it much better that it turned out to in fact BE a fake CGI snake in story, because... why were the power armoured laser-wielding strongest warriors in the galaxy SCARED of a snake? Why did Ashildr even need to be in the helmet in the first place, it's not like she had any ability to use the tech. Or was it some kind of mind reading helmet? The whole thing with her dying felt a bit weak and un-foreshadowed, but setting the doctor up as willing to sacrifice her for everyone else felt in keeping with Capaldi's portrayal. Then the finale was just a complete take-back of that whole interesting development. And also, has the Doctor learned NOTHING about what goes wrong when alien battlefield technology goes to work on humans from ARE YOU MY MUMMY for gently caress's sake. Dr Who isn't a history, nature or science documentary. I liked it - my favourite of this season so far. Start was good, highlighting the fact that they have adventures we don't get to see. Coleman, Capaldi and Masie Williams got their acting on. Loved the training segment - the lineup with the nicknames and the cutaway to the chaos after he let them have real swords was awesome. That was how you do a 2 parter. Next week looks cool (although wierdly the "next time" section didn't have Clara in it )
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Oct 17, 2015 22:18
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MrL_JaKiri posted:What a rubbish set of nitpicks, you can do better than that (especially given that "two days sail away" is nothing in the grand scheme of things, what about the stories where the TARDIS doesn't even appear!) Mr Beens posted:Dr Who isn't a history, nature or science documentary. I'm getting less and less interested with earth-history episodes for just this reason. Sometimes they're great (The Girl in the Fireplace, in particular, I really enjoyed) but I find ten minutes in the future or ten million years in the future (or just In Space generally) to be preferable to relatively recent history, just because I KNOW about relatively recent history and geography, and it's really jarring when they ignore it wholesale for a gag. SiKboy posted:Why is the dominant life form on this planet scared of spiders/snakes/the dark/goddamn clowns?
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Oct 17, 2015 22:26
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thespaceinvader posted:
I know plenty people who would throw a tank they were driing into reverse if they saw a regular spider, let alone one bigger than the tank they were driving.
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Oct 17, 2015 22:29
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For that matter, at least one of them had its helmet off. Why didn't it just tell its mates that they were clearly not seeing the same thing?
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Oct 17, 2015 22:31
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The Viking Farmer Army training montage was funny, and nothing was offensively bad to me, as a guy who doesn't know much about electric eels, vikings, or geography. The mechanics of the contraption at the end weren't really elaborated on, which is fine as it would've all been technobabble anyway. I liked the smallness of the episode, much the like the past two-part story. I also liked that the Doctor was in clear moral conflict about the whole affair, never quite settling on whether he ought to leave be or help or where he should draw the line on helping. I liked his constant doubting, especially when he was kicking himself for making viking girl immortal. The key actors were good, the viking actors were entertaining but I can't remember the names of any of their characters. The cuts to 10's stuff was done as well as it could have been, not too big on the notion of doing continuity based on a casting choice from about 5 years ago but hey ho. Overall, it was alright, pretty standard stuff, the next time trailer looks to be more standard stuff in the same vein.
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Oct 17, 2015 22:45
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Wait a minute, if the chip in Ashildr works the same way for the Maya, does that make them immortal too? ... I guess it explains why they're so bored and jaded that they fly around the universe abducting manly men and drinking their manliness. IceAgeComing posted:What you seem to be implying is that Time and the Rani isn't bollocks, which is objectively wrong I unno, I liked the bit where the Rani combined the greatest minds in history to come up with 
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Oct 17, 2015 22:47
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thespaceinvader posted:
Well yeah, back in 1964 - that point hasn't been relevant or a remit of the show since about the third series.
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Oct 17, 2015 22:50
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Literally the 5th ever episode of the show threw out any pretense of being historical education by introducing the Daleks.
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Oct 17, 2015 23:14
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The original concept was to alternate history stories with science stories, which is why Chesterfield is a science teacher, so he could talk somewhere vaguely near the Doctor's level about the sciency things that he was going to find in the future (and presumably have his mind blown when he learns about plate tectonics and seafloor spreading). I'd have preferred to do without the silly horned helmets, but I can live with it if it's in the service of something that was that good otherwise. I do like the idea of really experimenting and pushing the boundaries of what a two-part story actually is.
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Oct 17, 2015 23:27
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It's been established that in the Doctor Who universe, Vikings DID wear horned helmets. Ask yourself: would you truly rather have historical accuracy over "what do you think it is, a space helmet for a cow?!"
misadventurous fucked around with this message at 00:56 on Oct 18, 2015 |
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Oct 18, 2015 00:47
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I really liked this episode and I think it was the best characterization of Clara in a long time. Good performances all around too.
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Oct 18, 2015 00:54
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This was probably my favorite episode of the season so far, though I bet The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar will work a lot better back to back. There was some goofiness involved, but the training montage was fun, and I absolutely loved the Doctor's way of circumventing the standard third act of the Seven Samurai model. Making a fool out of a dangerous enemy is the ultimate Doctor-y way of winning. Humiliation is so much better than destruction.
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Oct 18, 2015 01:24
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I really enjoyed that episode. My only nitpick would be that the immortality chip came out of nowhere. Have to assume that they initially meant to have The Doctors awareness of that technology in the suits being foreshadowed and him deciding to use it being a spur of the moment "...I suppose this time there's noting dangerous about just saving one person..." decision after remembering Pompeii.
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Oct 18, 2015 01:38
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My assumption would be a scene involving a Maia using the chip was in the script (and maybe filmed) but cut for time/pacing. Pacing's a major thing I'm enjoying this season for. Not a scene is being wasted.
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Oct 18, 2015 01:43
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I need to watch that again, because right now all I can think is 'Well that was a mess'.
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Oct 18, 2015 01:57
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That was GREAT! Solid standalone plot, plenty of good quips, excellent Capaldi stuff, drama and fanwank and babytalk made me roll my eyes but it also made me smile so even it gets a thumbs up. Top shelf Doctor Who. Jamie Mathieson is easily my new favorite writer. I could see the Moff's fingerprints all over this one too-- partly in the fanwank, but more obviously (and enjoyably) in the aforementioned good quips. It's probably the first ep this season to have really nailed the two distinct-yet-connected parts, judging by the cliffhanger alone. I'm genuinely excited for next week. Couldn't get enough of the Doctor running forward in a panic to see if Clara was alright and awkwardly giving her a thumbs-up (and then hugging her anyway awwww) And with that bit where she faced down the aliens Clara officially became my favorite companion. Love that she's just allowed to be cool and brave and clever without it backfiring in her face.
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Oct 18, 2015 02:35
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Yea, that was great. I love how in general, when the companions in the rebooted series have not been hopless without the Doctor, but that was by far the best moment any of them had. I also liked how the weird girl was not an outcast but actually beloved by the village. I'm curious to see where it's going with the whole immortality thing. Funny I was just "hey isn't it funny that Capaldi was also the dad in Fires of Pompeii..." and that was a plot point.
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Oct 18, 2015 02:51
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twistedmentat posted:Yea, that was great. I love how in general, when the companions in the rebooted series have not been hopless without the Doctor, but that was by far the best moment any of them had. Yeah, even down to the Odin guy straight up saying Clara almost had him talking, which she was clearly better at than him. I like that they're showing that Clara's learning from the Doctor instead of just having him say it.
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Oct 18, 2015 03:13
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I feel as though this season goes a lot better if the viewer knows that this year the season's comprised of 4 2-part episodes. Every other week it seems like most of the criticism comes from people stunned at the "To Be Continued"s at the end, and I honestly thought people heard/knew that there were going to be a lot of those this year.
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Oct 18, 2015 03:18
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Chris James 2 posted:I feel as though this season goes a lot better if the viewer knows that this year the season's comprised of 4 2-part episodes. Every other week it seems like most of the criticism comes from people stunned at the "To Be Continued"s at the end, and I honestly thought people heard/knew that there were going to be a lot of those this year. 4? I'm fairly sure there's 5 2 parters, and only 2 one-shots. The 2 weeks after next is the Zygons, and the finale is clearly a double.
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Oct 18, 2015 03:38
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I wonder how much of a "two parter" this episode and next week's really is. The tone of the preview seems to suggest that it's a completely unrelated story that just happens to bring back one character from a previous story, that just so happened to be the most recent story.
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Oct 18, 2015 04:16
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I am thoroughly disgusted that there wasn't at least one black or asian Viking in this. Also, remember when Tennant was afraid/wary of an immortal human. Welcome Mrs Face of Boe.
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Oct 18, 2015 04:20
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jivjov posted:I wonder how much of a "two parter" this episode and next week's really is. The tone of the preview seems to suggest that it's a completely unrelated story that just happens to bring back one character from a previous story, that just so happened to be the most recent story. See, I saw this entire story as setting up Ashildr's death and revival, because that's going to be the crucial thing. The saving the village is almost rushed through because it's very much What the Doctor Usually Does- the monsters are basically a paper tiger anyway, they're a bunch of small-time cosmic bullies, and it's very meta how the Doctor trains the Norsemen not to be soliders (well, he tries and soon figures out that won't work), but to be like him- to fight back with cleverness and whimsy. That's the easy part for him. When the Doctor first started having those Pompeii flashbacks and figuring out what he was supposed to do, I was kinda ready for the revival to be some kinda last minute bullshit that would be sweet but not that well thought out- like Evolution of the Daleks. Instead, the entire scene wasn't him being sad that Ashildr was dead and that he couldn't save her and that was "defeat", but rather him knowing he could save her but at the cost of making her immortal. That it was about making that decision.
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Oct 18, 2015 04:37
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Maxwell Lord posted:When the Doctor first started having those Pompeii flashbacks and figuring out what he was supposed to do, I was kinda ready for the revival to be some kinda last minute bullshit that would be sweet but not that well thought out- like Evolution of the Daleks. Instead, the entire scene wasn't him being sad that Ashildr was dead and that he couldn't save her and that was "defeat", but rather him knowing he could save her but at the cost of making her immortal. That it was about making that decision. The episode is all about why the Doctor makes decisions, I really like that focus. It's strange to me that Clara wouldn't have worked this out by now though, it's not as if two regenerations of Doctor haven't been trying to get it through to her. But nice to bring Pompeii back into it. Horns are on Viking helmets because they're funny, not there to personally gently caress with people who read a book once (although that would be funnier). Also the Doctor is a telepath, why not use that to "speak baby" even if we smudge over the translation bits? Doctor Who has never made hard scifi sense anyway. There were two great lines in this ep: "Immortality isn't about living forever, but everybody else dying." Speaks volumes about the Doctor. "What is a god but the cattle's name for farmer? What is heaven but the gilded door of the abattoir?" Ouch. Clara's answer to that last one is nice and straightforward: "You're not a god, you're a thief, caught in the act." Iceburn! Hope that level of greatness continues for part 2!
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Oct 18, 2015 05:27
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The Girl Who Died gifs        
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Oct 18, 2015 05:46
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Oct 18, 2015 05:46
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Loved this. here we go, first episode I unreservedly love of the season. Under the Lake was pretty close, but this is all the way there. I really like how the Doctor's face was explained, not in a traditionally Moffat-y, mindfuck way, but in an emotionally resonant way that served the episode.
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Oct 18, 2015 06:21
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In so many ways this could also be Arya Stark.
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Oct 18, 2015 07:29
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This shot was goddamn fantastic.
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Oct 18, 2015 07:46
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Enourmo posted:This shot was goddamn fantastic. I love the range she goes through: Happiness, then when we see her face again she's sad, then she goes neutral. The last one hints that such a neutral face is a bad thing, because of the explosion.
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Oct 18, 2015 08:14
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happyhippy posted:I am thoroughly disgusted that there wasn't at least one black or asian Viking in this. Jack is essentially a glitch in the Universe created by the TARDIS being used to do something it never should, a medical device is entirely different.
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Oct 18, 2015 08:18
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