Doctor Who - Series 4

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Mon May 12, 2008 6:41 pm

spiderfrommars wrote:
Metal Vendetta wrote:Good job they didn't bury her, innit?
Do we know that they even bury their dead?

Well apparently not, they just put them on a table and...look at them...

spiderfrommars wrote:
Metal Vendetta wrote:And the Doctor didn't stay till the end of the ceremony? Why not? Did he leave the gas on or something?
By the time we saw Jenny lying in repose he seemed to be back in 'detached' mode.

It's still a bit odd though...not attending your own daughter's funeral. And considering the attachment Donna showed towards her it's very strange that she didn't suggest it.

spiderfrommars wrote:
Metal Vendetta wrote:And they were real quick to procreate the Doctor but not Martha or Donna...
They said "process them" but the Hath attacked right after the Doctor 'gave birth' to Jenny. Later in the city they mentioned their intention to make a squadron out of them in the morning. The point was addressed.

There was a lot of standing around talking about Jenny before the Hath attacked...they should have at least grabbed one of them and *tried* to force their hand into the machine.

I dunno, it just seems like the direction on this series has been well sub-par so far, especially compared to, say, season 1.

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Mon May 12, 2008 6:49 pm

Mmm. Getting a bit bored of the repetitive thematics, too. Military bad, chavs good, procreation is important, lots of running, Martha kills people... can we get on with the plot, thanks?

I don't mind mysteries, I don't mind recurring thematics, but when I'm being bludgeoned with them week after week in lieu of any, y'know, actual developments... I get a bit snippy about it all...

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Mon May 12, 2008 8:03 pm

Metal Vendetta wrote:
spiderfrommars wrote:
Metal Vendetta wrote:Good job they didn't bury her, innit?
Do we know that they even bury their dead?
Well apparently not, they just put them on a table and...look at them...

This is a new concept to you?

Metal Vendetta wrote: There was a lot of standing around talking about Jenny before the Hath attacked...they should have at least grabbed one of them and *tried* to force their hand into the machine.

You mean the standing around, explaining the plot? I thought you liked those bits.

Metal Vendetta wrote:
I dunno, it just seems like the direction on this series has been well sub-par so far, especially compared to, say, season 1.

I'd say these first six episodes blow the season 1 equivalents out of the water, with only 'Dalek' being a stand out.

And this time last year we had the ropey Dalek 2 parter.

So it's been a strong opening for the fourth series IMO.

Brendocon wrote:Mmm. Getting a bit bored of the repetitive thematics, too.

I thought the writing's deliberately blurred the lines actually. Despite the Doctor's anti-gun stance in the Sontaran eps, the Colonel ended up being someone to cheer on, with UNIT pretty much proving their worth. And in this ep Jenny literally left the Doctor speechless when challenging his so called anti-violence stance.

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Mon May 12, 2008 9:45 pm

spiderfrommars wrote:I'd say these first six episodes blow the season 1 equivalents out of the water, with only 'Dalek' being a stand out.

I'd take The Unquiet Dead over anything so far this year. The chav Romans are worse than farting aliens in my book. And I much prefer Billie's mouthy cockney to Catherine Tate's.

I thought the writing's deliberately blurred the lines actually.

Attempts to add ambiguity to the issue doesn't change that they keep wacking us around the head with it.

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Tue May 13, 2008 4:03 pm

Searching for reviews, I found this one that seems to agree with me...
http://www.denofgeek.com/television/525 ... ghter.html

spiderfrommars wrote:So it's been a strong opening for the fourth series IMO.

Are the BBC paying you to post this?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue May 13, 2008 4:40 pm

Metal Vendetta wrote:
spiderfrommars wrote:So it's been a strong opening for the fourth series IMO.
Are the BBC paying you to post this?

In a way, they are, though, aren't they?

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Tue May 13, 2008 4:49 pm

Haha. Dave's a corporate shill.

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Tue May 13, 2008 5:21 pm

Is this where I apologise for Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of S***e?

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Tue May 13, 2008 7:22 pm

spiderfrommars wrote:Is this where I apologise for Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of S***e?

Just mention to your corporate overlords that it's about time someone did

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue May 13, 2008 7:40 pm

I think Voter Gilvatron needs to keep towing the party line in order to not have his funding (and possibly, other more vital parts) cut!

Post by **Best First** » Wed May 14, 2008 8:05 am

spiderfrommars wrote:Is this where I apologise for Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of S***e?

repeatedly please.

Liked the review that MV found - the other plot hole i could not help but think of is why was a terraforming crew so well armed? they seemed to have plenty of guns and ammo - i appreciate a crew might take along some fire arms for protection but they seemed especially well tooled.

Obvioulsy we knwe it wouldn't happen but i'm kinda dissapointed Jenny didn't joing the crew - although this may be for fairly primal reasons.

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Tue May 20, 2008 7:51 pm

Now this... is bloody exciting.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressr ... /who.shtml

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Wed May 21, 2008 4:16 pm

spiderfrommars wrote:Now this... is bloody exciting.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressr ... /who.shtml

Great news indeed. Moffat's had it coming for ages now, and it's about time RTD stepped aside.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun May 25, 2008 4:58 pm

For those interested, the books on the bookshelf currently on the BBC's Doctor Who front page read as follows (right to left):

Understanding Telebiogenesis

Black Orchid

Bridget Jones' Diary

Type 40 - TT Capsule Operation Manual

Everest In Easy Stages

Origins Of The Universe

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

The French Revolution

A Journal Of Impossible Things

Monty Python's Big Red Book

Love's Labours Lost

The Time Machine

Can't quite make out the title of the book immediately to the left of The Time Machine, and the book between The French Revolution and A Journal Of Impossible Things appears to be upside down. All the other titles are totally out of focus but appear generic volumes anyway.

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Sun May 25, 2008 5:10 pm

I thought last night's episode was a bit lacking. Though mercifully light on Donna.

A ha ha ha ha ha.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun May 25, 2008 5:14 pm

Brendocon wrote:I thought last night's episode was a bit lacking. Though mercifully light on Donna.

A ha ha ha ha ha.

"Doctor Who fans revolt as Mid-Season Trailer is expanded to 5-episode mini-series. One fan is quoted as saying 'I would have preferred more Rose and less Donna, to be honest.'"

Yes, nicked from EmVee's Iron Man link.

Still, nice to have seen some Union spirit on tv last night.

In South America.

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Sun May 25, 2008 8:41 pm

Incidentally, did anyone else do Latin at school?

My textbook in the first year (now called year 11 or something else thoroughly ridiculous) revolved around a family from Pompeii where the father was called Caecillius, the mother was Metella and the son was Quintus...a lovely little reference in The Fires of Pompeii that kept me chuckling throughout the whole episode. Though in my textbook, everyone died except Quintus (who moved to Britain for the second year textbook and worked under Agricola) and they didn't have a chavvy half-stone daughter. And they had a slave and a dog, both of which were glossed over in the Whoniverse. I'd have thought they would have kept the dog at least for human interest.

The Agatha Christie one was all right, but I'm still waiting for that wobbly lump on Donna's chin to be revealed as an alien implant. And is it really necessary for the Doctor to kiss every assistant now?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun May 25, 2008 10:19 pm

Metal Vendetta wrote:Incidentally, did anyone else do Latin at school?

My textbook in the first year (now called year 11 or something else thoroughly ridiculous) revolved around a family from Pompeii where the father was called Caecillius, the mother was Metella and the son was Quintus...a lovely little reference in The Fires of Pompeii that kept me chuckling throughout the whole episode. Though in my textbook, everyone died except Quintus (who moved to Britain for the second year textbook and worked under Agricola) and they didn't have a chavvy half-stone daughter. And they had a slave and a dog, both of which were glossed over in the Whoniverse. I'd have thought they would have kept the dog at least for human interest.

Ah, the old Cambridge Latin Course. Found their website a couple of years ago.

The dog was probably in the street (I seem to remember he used to spend a lot of time there in the first year). Weren't there a couple of slaves? A girl and a cook, Grumio, who used to get drunk all the time?

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Mon May 26, 2008 4:05 am

Canis in via est.

Though they textbooks were based on real people found in a villa excavated at Pompeii, so by not letting Caecilius, Metella and the others die, the Doctor did change history...and millions of kids learnt Latin about a totally different family...gotta wonder if that doesn't have repercussions somewhere down the line.

Post by **Best First** » Thu May 29, 2008 11:59 am

some fun ru-whominations on this weeks LITG:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page ... e&id=16559

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 1:26 pm

FINALLY

A real thumper of an episode, one that really delivered.

Moffat is the man.

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 3:30 pm

Yeah, great stuff. But I'm not jumping for joy quite yet. Benefit of being the first half of a two-parter is that it gets to set everything up without ever actually giving any answers... it could all still fall apart into a senseless mess next week.

Doubt it will though, given Moffat's previous form. But still... not quite ready to exhale yet.

Great idea for a monster.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 7:35 pm

Worked out the little girl's connection early on. Also, who her Dad and Doctor Moon are.

Agreed that Vashta Nerada is a great idea for a monster. Wonder if, due to it being on most worlds wherever there's meat, it'll turn up again some time.

But will "Hey! Who turned out the lights?" be as big a hit as "Are you my mummy?"?

Pissin' Poonani · Post by **Pissin' Poonani** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 10:27 pm

So what is the little girls connection (and her pa and the Salmon man?-sorry, I is a bit t'ick).

Is Alex Kingstons character a future incarnation of the Doctor?

Am I the Doctor?

Do I need one?

Icanhascheezburger?

Halp.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 10:45 pm

Pissin' Poonani wrote:So what is the little girls connection (and her pa and the Salmon man?-sorry, I is a bit t'ick).

The girl is the library's computer system. Having 'saved' its 4022 users at the time of the discovery of Vashta Nerada's presence, it has undergone a little self-awareness (á la Face of Evil), and assumed the identity of a little girl in her own world. In that virtual environment, her Dad and Doctor Moon are other aspects of the system (security and diagnostics/maintenance possibly), and have been given appearances based on members of the 4022.

Is Alex Kingstons character a future incarnation of the Doctor?

Nope. Future companion. Would've been interesting if she turned out to be Jenny, but everything points to her being a future companion.

Am I the Doctor?

Nope. Future companion.

Do I need one?

Nope. Future companion.

Icanhascheezburger?

Halp.

Of course, all of the above is pure supposition.

Lost children, monsters under the bed, things moving out of the corner of your eye, fear of the dark... Wonder what Moffat will think of next.

Post by **Best First** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 1:50 pm

Boobs are evil.

As pointed out by LITG there are some interesting Moffat based ruminations here:

http://beasthouse-lm2.blogspot.com/2008 ... -king.html

Post by **Best First** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 2:13 pm

presumably we have not all stopped watching this?

Forest of the Dead was great!

Quite liked Midnight - maybe more for the performances than the story. Not sure how i feel about such a powerless Doctor...

Also lack of resolution as to what that thing was and its odd shift from physical to seemingly psychic. Good claustraphobia but not a lot of answers...

Next week looks a bit of an Age of Apocalypse style time shunt.

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 3:14 pm

Best First wrote:presumably we have not all stopped watching this?

Forest of the Dead was great!

Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead were ******* fantastic. Utterly faultless, as far as I'm concerned.

Midnight was good too. Not perfect, but certainly not rubbish. Nice and self-contained. Okay, lack of actual answers, but the characters didn't know either, so ambiguity works for me in that regard. Budget must be tight, given the lack of physical monsters for three successive eps (the best three of the season, afaic).

w00ty w00ty.

Rewatched season 2 over the weekend. Well, all bar Love & Monsters.

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 5:41 pm

Midnight did a great job. Really enjoyed it.

Love and Monsters was good fun.

Post by **Best First** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:12 am

i think the other thing about the last three eps is that there has been some genuine scares in there - maybe slighlty less so in Forest of the dead due to the pace - Midnight was creeepy as ****!

also - "Look me up". YES.

Incidentally Alex Kingston was stone cold brilliant and the twist in Steve Pemberton's character from episode 1 -2 was superb.