7X05 The Angels Take Manhattan (Grading/Discussion) (SPOILERS!)

Discussion in 'Doctor Who' started by Samurai8472, Sep 29, 2012.

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Grade "The Angels Take Manhattan"

Poll closed Oct 30, 2012.
  1. The girl who waited

    100 vote(s)
    64.5%
  2. Something borrowed

    35 vote(s)
    22.6%
  3. Average

    10 vote(s)
    6.5%
  4. Is it bad that I really miss this?

    3 vote(s)
    1.9%
  5. You're Scottish, fry something

    7 vote(s)
    4.5%
  1. Ghost Bones

    Ghost Bones Captain Captain

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    Americans should just start calling them "chips" then, like us British who did back it.
    But the BBC should be making programmes aimed at the audience who pays for it, not for potential audiences elsewhere who don't fund it. If they could have saved money by not going on this vanity trip to New York and achieved the same result then that's what should have been done.
     
  2. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah, but then we'd have to call our chips crisps and we're just too lazy. :)


    BTW, I think only politicians and political pundits ever called them Freedom Fries, not your average American Joe.
     
  3. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    Yeah, I'm pretty sure regular American citizens just called them Freedom Fries to mock the term "Freedom Fries." Nobody ever actually called them that for real.
     
  4. Skywalker

    Skywalker Admiral Admiral

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    Feb 24, 2005
    Renaming everyday food items is a time-honored tradition in this country. Anyone want some liberty cabbage? :D
     
  5. doubleohfive

    doubleohfive Fleet Admiral

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    You're not wrong. French toast was originally "German Toast" before the war. :shrug:
     
  6. propita

    propita Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I have pics of it from the 9/11 Memorial from our visit this past Spring. A couple of shots have the single tree that survived the day and was babied into staying alive. When we were there, it was the only tree in leaf.
     
  7. Plain Simple

    Plain Simple Commodore Commodore

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    :lol:

    Not sure what you mean by legit (written by Moffat? somehow I don't think so), but it is good fun.
     
  8. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    But this is something Who's done for many years. City of Death, Arc of Infinity, The Two Doctors, and let's remember the Two Doctors originally was going to be filmed in New Orleans, which given the show didn't have the kind of traction in the US it has now would have made that even more of a 'vanity trip' than this.

    The BBC makes a lot of money from abroad, not only with Who but with Top Gear and Strictly amongst others, so I don't think it's a huge waste of money to film aborad on occasion, plus I don't think there was actually that much filming in New York, it seemed pretty small scale compared to something like Planet of the Dead in Dubai, which must have been huge by comparison.

    Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to see them film every episode abroad, I don't relish the idea of Who being Americanised, and the notion bandied about about New Zealand would be several steps too far for me, but I don't see it as a huge problem if it occasionally gives the show a boost aborad and provides a different look (which benefits us as well). Or they could hand back every cent anyone who isn't British spends on Who merchendise, and just keep using the Cardiff peace temple or whatever its called,and Bad Wolf bay (how many times have we seen each of those now, four/five/more?)
     
  9. Pindar

    Pindar Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    According to the latest Blogtor Who podcast one of the production team said it's cheaper to go to America and film there that it is to recreate it in Cardiff.

    Anyway I don't care what is cost, it looks much better when they go to an actual foreign location rather than trying to cheat it back here.
     
  10. doubleohfive

    doubleohfive Fleet Admiral

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    By "legit," I mean as in official. I found it on Buzzfeed, but it is so damn fan-wanky that it could easily just be something some fan with photoshop skills and a decent attention span put together.
     
  11. Mitty

    Mitty Vice Admiral Admiral

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    May 21, 2000
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    I've watched it multiple times now. The first half is a tad annoying and doesn't make that much sense, and the Statue of Liberty Angel is completely ridiculous. Given the "rules" of the Weeping Angels, I don't think it's possible in New York City, even an earlier New York City in the 1940's or whenever this was, that there is a time where absolutely nobody is looking at the thing. The Rule is, if someone is looking at it then it can't move. And here we have it next to a building while cars drive by on the other side of the building, blissfully unaware what's going on. Surely someone saw it walking across the River to get there, and if they did then it couldn't have done it.

    Yes, it's funny but it makes zero sense.

    Having said all that, From the bit where Rory says he has to jump and then Amy joining him, that for me is one of the most powerful scenes ever in Doctor Who. I didn't think they were going to die from the fall (and I was right) but Amy's speech about "it's together, or not at all" really hit home with me for some reason.

    The bit after that in the grave yard felt a bit rushed up until Amy decided to let the Angel take her as well, but her acting and Matt Smith's acting were amazing. Matt Smith does sad upset distraught Doctor really well.

    And Amelias Afterword... that gave me shivers. I would have actually been impressed if they'd had a scene in the can shot back when The Eleventh Hour was made of The Doctor coming back to young Amy, but I guess in Retrospect it would have taken away from that final scene a little bit. And they couldn't film it now because the girl who plays little Amy has probably grown quite a bit since then, she was even obviously older in her Scenes in "Let's Kill Hitler" and "The God Complex".
     
  12. Mr Light

    Mr Light Admiral Admiral

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    The Statue of Liberty thing was a cool teaser image but it makes no sense within the reality of the episode...
     
  13. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    ^Yeah, and I adore the episode but it really was silly!
     
  14. Mr Awe

    Mr Awe Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Jan 15, 2002
    It's simple, he just plants the tombstone and off they go!

    Mr Awe
     
  15. Alidar Jarok

    Alidar Jarok Everything in moderation but moderation Moderator

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    Apr 14, 2003
    Location:
    Norfolk, VA
    Unless you're wrong, in which case you've just altered a fixed point in time.
     
  16. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    Apr 22, 2001
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    But you could say the same of myriad situations throughout Who.

    Why didn't he save Adric? Not like the mass of one boy was going to be the deciding factor between the dinosaurs being wiped out at surviving? Hell he could rescue Adric then drop him off again as an old man to be blown up.

    Why didn't he rescue Peri?

    Reinette? Well he could just pop back and see her, as for the letter, heck I can envisage an amusing scene where the 11th doctor stands behind her dictating bits of it.

    I think the Doctor just knows sometimes, knows when things are at an end, when he can't interfere, and as someone else said, both the Ponds and the Doctor knew time was up, they just needed an excuse.
     
  17. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I said that on page 15, long before it was cool! :scream:
     
  18. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    Sorry I did mean to put 'as someone suggested earlier' :lol:
     
  19. Dac

    Dac Commodore Commodore

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    Aug 9, 2005
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    The Essex wastes...
    About the shooting in New York thing? I'm a Brit, a License Fee payer, but I'm not bitter about that. I just really don't think the spectacle that New York should have came across in the episode. The shot where Amy and The Doctor walk through Time Square looked composited too me. And while there were people when Rory was "getting" the coffee, Central Park seemed devoid of live for the most part, especially when we only see the same 3 extras in the background for most of the Doc/Rory/Amy shots. Considering what they got seemed awfully underwhelming to me, I just felt like it may as well have been shot in the UK for presumably less expense.

    EDIT:

    I mean, look at this shot from the End of Captain America.

    [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=X2-VaFMk9-M[/yt]

    In 20 seconds, they've established that it's New York, it looks like New York and feels like New York. 20 seconds. Now sure, Captain America is a big budget movie, but Doctor Who is now a high production value show, especially this year when Matt Smith and Moffat made a big deal about each episode being a mini movie. All that makes the Cap shot work is the camerawork. Low angle, show off the city and the fact its a sprawling metropolis. Something like that would have sold the whole "Rory is lost and the Doc and Amy go looking for him to no avail" bit far better than the flat "run across a street, magically end up at the Tardis miles away" shot/cut we got.
     
  20. Photoman15

    Photoman15 Commodore Commodore

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    Well that's probably because of crowd control. There were a thousand fans that ran to CP when they found out they were filming there. Had there not, you may have got real background people,.