I wear a stetson now. Stetsons are cool.

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Tue Apr 19, 2011 8:29 pm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13137674

inflatable dalek · Post by **inflatable dalek** » Tue Apr 19, 2011 8:34 pm

A great shame, especially considering she was only 63. I met her once not long after School reunion, absolutely charming woman who seemed genuinely interested in the print of the Taget Pyramids of Mars cover I asked her to sign.

I think the rest of Planet of the Spiders can go on hold for now, I'll watch a good Sarah story first...

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Apr 19, 2011 8:44 pm

Say goodbye with The Hand of Fear.

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 5:52 pm

Don't you love it when you get a sudden moment of realisation and you know exactly what's going on, only for it to be immediately proven wrong?

Spoilers wrote:That's what I just got. Thought the voice was the ship, as per The Lodger. Then the astronaut opened the visor.

Nice to get a River explanation too. She is the Time Traveller's Wife. Just not in a literal sense.

'citing.

[edit]

Spoilers wrote:Though I could still be right because the voice was scared of the spaceman wasn't it? Oooooh. Need next episode noowwwww pleasethanksbye.

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 8:41 pm

Thought it was frickin' brilliant and the best season opener so far (which is saying something after last year).

Then I popped over to Gallifreybase where loads of people were saying how terrible it was. WTF.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 9:20 pm

spiderfrommars wrote:Then I popped over to Gallifreybase where loads of people were saying how terrible it was. WTF.

That'd be the Matt Smith haters, the Stephen Moffatt haters, and the general don't-like-change-ers. Probably.

inflatable dalek · Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sun Apr 24, 2011 7:17 pm

Mark Shepard ftw. "And how long have Scotland yard had this?"

OK, so odds on that being Amy's daughter in the suit?

A nice double bluff there actually, when she mentioned being sick I thought "Ah, she's up the duff then", but River feeling the same made it seem like a side effect of un-seeing the Silent. Unless she's pregnant as well.

Oh God, don't let all those "River is Amy's daughter" people turn out to be right. Or that be young River in the suit.

Mostly a very good, tense episode. But couldn't get involved in the "death" at the start.

And would there have been black security agents in '69? And unless they do more with it next week the foreign filming was gratuitously pointless. They could just as easily faked an American forest in Wales.

The Lis Sladen tribute on the CBBC channel was lovely as well.

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Sun Apr 24, 2011 9:54 pm

inflatable dalek wrote:OK, so odds on that being Amy's daughter in the suit?

If she was Amy's daughter - or River - why would she have an American accent?

inflatable dalek wrote: And would there have been black security agents in '69?

Sidney Poitier was kicking arse as a police detective in In the Heat of the Night in '67 so why not?

inflatable dalek wrote:
And unless they do more with it next week the foreign filming was gratuitously pointless.

If you've seen the Next Time trailer you'll know the answer to that one (unless you avoided it because of spoilers... in which case, is this a spoiler?)

Besides, I wouldn't call it pointless. With that Apollo astronaut, the Doctor's 'death' and funeral... what a fantastic setting it was.

inflatable dalek · Post by **inflatable dalek** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 6:27 am

spiderfrommars wrote: If she was Amy's daughter - or River - why would she have an American accent?.

In the former's case, for the same reason my father doesn't have a Polish accent, the kid could have lived in America all their lives (or even been born there), in the later's case, accents can change over time, especially if you move about (remember how the Doctor specifically noticed Amy still sounded Scottish after over a decade of living in England?).

Considering the suit is obviously much bigger than a child I wonder if it's hiding a Cyber-Conversion gone wrong? Or would doing that to a minor be a bit too gruesome?

Oh, and I'll forgive Amy in her grief for forgetting the Astronaut was proven to be bulletproof back in the first scene.

And I loved the Tegan callback as well. "Brave heart" indeed.

Some hilarity over at Gallifrey Base about the dedication, both for it going with Lis Sladen's "Official" birthdate rather than the actual one (though it only seems to have come out she was two years older in the last day or so, probably after the dedication was done. Plus, if she wanted people to think she was 63 is it that much of a tribute to show her us as a liar?) and for leaving Nick Courntey off.

I can feel the annoyance at that if we don't get anything, but it's just as likely he's getting next week's dedicated to him alone giving them a show each. Or they're holding it back for an especially appropriate one later in the run (a UNIT story perhaps?). It's a bit early to be calling the Moff the old Who hating disrespectful Anti-Christ.

Post by **Best First** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 7:47 am

i don't see how anyone could hate that - i bloomin loved it anyway, and keep finding myself singing bam bam bah bam bam banah in it's temporal wake.

Thought the callback (forward?) to River's death was pretty choking.

inflatable dalek · Post by **inflatable dalek** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 7:52 am

And it completely failed to click it was Sheppard Sr. playing his old self. Which considering W. Morgan's been in nearly as much stuff as his son is a worrying sign of my mental deterioration.

So they go all the way to America to film, but both of the actors playing the main Yankee guest star are British. Awesome.

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 10:42 am

inflatable dalek wrote:In the former's case, for the same reason my father doesn't have a Polish accent, the kid could have lived in America all their lives (or even been born there), in the later's case, accents can change over time, especially if you move about

Well, of course, but do you think that's what it is?

I have never ever guessed one of these things right anyway. Well except for the last 15 mins of Utopia. But I have absoloutely no idea how Moffat's going to get round the Doctor's supposed death.

inflatable dalek wrote: I can feel the annoyance at that if we don't get anything, but it's just as likely he's getting next week's dedicated to him alone giving them a show each. Or they're holding it back for an especially appropriate one later in the run (a UNIT story perhaps?). It's a bit early to be calling the Moff the old Who hating disrespectful Anti-Christ.

Yep, aren't they calling it DISGUSTING and a DISGRACE etc? Let's face it 1) Lis died only last week 2) a 15 minute special about Courtney on CBBC would make absolutely no sense and 3) if they's put a dedication saying 'AND Nicholas Courtney' people would complain that he only got an 'AND'. I think some people aren't happy unless they get to be really angry about something.

Best First wrote:i don't see how anyone could hate that - i bloomin loved it anyway, and keep finding myself singing bam bam bah bam bam banah in it's temporal wake.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 11:01 am

spiderfrommars wrote:
inflatable dalek wrote:In the former's case, for the same reason my father doesn't have a Polish accent, the kid could have lived in America all their lives (or even been born there), in the later's case, accents can change over time, especially if you move about
Well, of course, but do you think that's what it is?

I have never ever guessed one of these things right anyway. Well except for the last 15 mins of Utopia. But I have absoloutely no idea how Moffat's going to get round the Doctor's supposed death.

"It's the end, but the moment has been prepared for."

"The Astronaut was the Doctor all along!"

Or, maybe not. But he's given himself 200 years of breathing space to work something out.

inflatable dalek · Post by **inflatable dalek** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 6:59 pm

Considering the other suits sitting about I'll say it's a fair bet it's not the kid who shot the Doctor. Him doing it himself is likely, but considering the heavy hints River's in prison for killing the Doctor it being some younger version of her wouldn't surprise me.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 9:14 pm

inflatable dalek wrote:Considering the other suits sitting about I'll say it's a fair bet it's not the kid who shot the Doctor. Him doing it himself is likely, but considering the heavy hints River's in prison for killing the Doctor it being some younger version of her wouldn't surprise me.

It seems unlikely that after watching her younger self kill the Doctor, she'd then empty her gun at her.

inflatable dalek · Post by **inflatable dalek** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 6:05 am

Rebis wrote: It seems unlikely that after watching her younger self kill the Doctor, she'd then empty her gun at her.

Even with her knowing the suit is bulletproof?

inflatable dalek · Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 6:05 pm

Doctor Who and Transformers 3: Day of the Moon.

Weirdly the suit only seems to be bulletproof from the back as there was a hole where Amy shot the helmet...

Generally liked it very much. Would be amazed now if the little girl isn't young River/Time Lady. The dialogue at the end seems to be trying to plant the idea that being knocked up whilst travelling in time might make Amy's baby a bit weird, but I'm not sure that would extend to giving the kid the Time Lord regeneration special effect.

Unless River and the kid and Amy's baby are all one and the same.

The Doctor's plan with the moon footage was very smart, but the scripting and/or direction on its execution didn't make any sense. You had people actively turning towards the Silence to attack them, when they really shouldn't have had any idea they were there until they happened to see them.

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 6:19 pm

Out of the corner of your eye.

inflatable dalek · Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 6:41 pm

Brendocon wrote:Out of the corner of your eye.

The Secret Service guy was facing in completely the opposite direction. Unless he's got a squint worse than me that's unlikely.

This two parter has given the "Moffett is just a one trick pony who does the same things over and over again Terry Nation style" more ammunition though. As well as the timey wimey stuff and confirmation that the River/Doctor relationship borrows the out of synch love story from The Time Travellers Wife as The Girl in the Fireplace did in more compacted form, you get someone trying to build an inescapable prison for the Doctor again. And failing again.

And did I miss the explanation as to why Clayton and the President seemed to be immune to the Silence's influence?

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 7:18 pm

Were they?

I missed the first few minutes so just caught up on iplayer. Had hoped there'd be explanations for a lot of stuff, but alas no. We just timejump and they all know about the silence and the Doctor has been locked up. No clue what it said to Canton either. Sigh.

Legion · Post by **Legion** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 8:16 pm

inflatable dalek wrote:you get someone trying to build an inescapable prison for the Doctor again. And failing again.

it wasn't actually built to be that though, was it? that was just a cover...?

the bigger question is, how did 60s America have the ability to build such a thing out of the technobabble material in the first place?

also, why the charade of hunting down the Tardis crew just to put them in a room with the Tardis in it so they could escape again? If it was to trick the Silents into thinking that they were no longer a threat, why go and blow that by having Amy walk into a nest of them straight away afterwards?

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 8:24 pm

It's almost like the more you look at it the less sense it makes.

Legion · Post by **Legion** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 8:43 pm

Brendocon wrote:It's almost like the more you look at it the less sense it makes.

so, more "Oh, cool!" than "Ah, makes sense!" gotcha

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 9:16 pm

inflatable dalek wrote:OK, so odds on that being Amy's daughter in the suit?

So now it looks like they are going in this direction after all! Or are we just meant to think that?

Legion wrote: also, why the charade of hunting down the Tardis crew just to put them in a room with the Tardis in it so they could escape again?

I understood it that the FBI were being subliminally controlled by the Silence to chase down the Tardis crew, but that Canton was still working for the Doctor.

I've got to admit I found the pre-credits scene a little confusing, but the episode plays better on second viewing.

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 9:47 pm

The fact it picks up on last week's big cliffhanger by completely ignoring it and skipping forward several months really doesn't help matters.

I want to know how the hell they found out about The Big Secret Alien Conspiracy. I mean the whole point of it is that you don't remember. The viewer finds out in the first episode... and by the time we pick up, they just know about it.

Unless we've skipped it because they've forgotten and we're going to get it revealed later, but christ alive that's ******* annoying on first view. So much going on in the episode and the things that are actually important get ignored.

One of them asking Canton if he even remembers why he's doing this is theoretically a nice nod to it, but ends up just being annoying.

Still, next week is Pirates of the Caribbean. Doctor Jack Sparrow.

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Sun May 01, 2011 12:18 am

Could the little girl be Romana? Or would that be the stupedest fanwanky idea ever? (Though really, there's no reason her character couldn't be reintroduced if the story warranted it)

Episode 4 is called The Doctor's Wife and it's got that actress from Corrie in it. Could there be a connection to the girl in this episode?

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Sun May 01, 2011 10:45 am

spiderfrommars wrote:Episode 4 is called The Doctor's Wife and it's got that actress from Corrie in it. Could there be a connection to the girl in this episode?

I doubt it. The Doctor's Wife is the Gaiman episode that was originally scripted to be shown last season. Whilst I fully expect it will have been tweaked to fit in with what's happened in the interim, that's a hell of a big revision to work in to the central concept.

Also, having read the summary for ep4, I seriously doubt it's got anything to do with the ongoing plot strands.

inflatable dalek · Post by **inflatable dalek** » Mon May 02, 2011 7:00 am

Brendocon wrote: I doubt it. The Doctor's Wife is the Gaiman episode that was originally scripted to be shown last season. Whilst I fully expect it will have been tweaked to fit in with what's happened in the interim, that's a hell of a big revision to work in to the central concept.

Also, having read the summary for ep4, I seriously doubt it's got anything to do with the ongoing plot strands.

Well, in fairness, it has had to be extensively rewritten to put Rory in it (well, at least I hope so. I'd expect better from Gaiman than him just getting half Amy's lines).

To be honest, I'm more excited about the promised more Tardis rooms than anything to do with the titular wife.

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Mon May 02, 2011 9:13 am

I've been wondering why in the final showdown with the Silence the Doctor doesn't keep forgetting them every time he turns around. Is it because he always had a Silent in his line of sight?

It's a brilliant idea for a monster though.

Brendocon wrote: Also, having read the summary for ep4, I seriously doubt it's got anything to do with the ongoing plot strands.

Fair enough. I'm avoiding the summaries. I hope it doesn't mean another love interest for the Doctor in the first half of the season though - one is enough!

inflatable dalek · Post by **inflatable dalek** » Mon May 02, 2011 9:35 am

The Gaiman episode apparently brings something back from the War Games (perhaps the Security Chief is the Doctor's Wife? "No...What...A...Stupid...Fool....You...Are...Darling") and apparently hinges on something that "No one has ever done before" that got the Moff very excited (and presumably isn't the wife thing as we've been having that with Rive since she turned up).

There's a nice little interview with Gaiman in the new SFX where he talks about being scared shitless by the Web Planet as a kid (it's something he's deliberately never revisited having been warned by people it's definitely not what he remembers) and having a friend who was able to help him by reciting every switch that's ever been named on the Tardis console. "Year-ometer? Really?).