Poll: 7x08 Cold War review and discussion

Discussion in 'Doctor Who' started by Lonemagpie, Apr 13, 2013.

?

Rate episode 7x08 Cold War

  1. Geronimo!

    27.4%
  2. NIce Warrior!

    53.2%
  3. lukewarm

    16.9%
  4. Will spring never come?

    2.4%
  5. Dive Dive Dive!

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2001
    Location:
    Behind Enemy Lines
    I think they skipped a few bits early on, it was a bit jarring but it settled down after a while. If I had a quibble it's that this was an episode that could have done with being a little bit longer, but the flip side is that being a 2 parter would have ruined it.
     
  2. Orac Zen

    Orac Zen Mischief Manager Super Moderator

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2000
    Location:
    Land of drought and flooding rain
    An improvement on last week's...whatever the hell that was, but still nothing remarkable. Basically a cross between Aliens(s), The Hunt For Red October and the first X-Files movie, with an Ice Warrior thrown in for good measure. Clara still does nothing whatsoever for me, and having her save the day with her speech and "singing" was a bit much. Still, Smith is always eminently watchable, David Warner is generally good, and it was nice to see an Ice Warrior again (as opposed to the done-to-death, turn-up-so-often-they're-boring-beyond-belief Daleks and Cybermen).

    The best of the three to date, but given how crap I found the first two to be that isn't saying very much at all.
     
  3. Avon

    Avon Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    May 7, 2010
    Location:
    Avon
    can't decide whether this episode is itself really excellent, or after last weeks it just seemed like it. however still probably my favorite new-who story since the creepy gasmask child ww2 chris ecclestone one
     
  4. Australis

    Australis Writer - Australis Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2005
    Location:
    The Edge of Reality
    I liked this a lot more than the others so far. Not quite there, and Clara is still a blank, as far as I'm concerned, but fairly solid.
     
  5. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2000
    Location:
    In the lap of squalor I assure you.
    But what was the crap where it was just hands coming out of the shadow like an assassin?

    That was totally out of character.

    But then making them biomecnanoid just turns the ice warriors into half assed Cyberman and it's it's all technology, why cose that shape which is so unike their physical form set obviusly a biological avatar of some kind... Really, why would factories turn out this standard design when every "Icewarrior" can have their armour peronally modified and detailed if they are still people on the inside and not programmed and conditioned wetwar.

    Who did the Martians fight?

    Was there another planet in the solar system with life other than the Modaians?

    Maybe the Silurians?

    Or did their civil wars extendnto space?

    Retroactively after the formation of a world gvernment, all wars between humans will be seen as "civil wars".

    Sutek was on Earth but the forcefield holding him in place was projected form Mars.
     
  6. Jax

    Jax Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2003
    Location:
    The Universe.
    I gave it another average grade like last week, I liked the Ice Warrior and it had little good bits here and there but it just felt like it was missing something :confused:

    Clara is still entertaining though am more inteested in her mysterey then stand alone episodes at the moment. To be honest I've come to love Moffat more arc stories more than stand alone during his era they are generally more exciting IMO. However next week promo did look like a real peach ;)
     
  7. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 18, 1999
    Location:
    Switzerland
    Thought it was great, like a Troughton episode with a bigger budget really. It was tense, had a couple of nice characters, was thematically relevant and they managed to reintroduce the Ice Warriors in such a way that we want to see them again, AND they're distinct from the Sontarans, which could have been an issue.
     
  8. Green Lantern

    Green Lantern Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jul 3, 2012
    Location:
    The bed of whoever pays for the night.
    Fantastic! A huge improvement over the past few episodes. Is actually now in my top 3 Smith episodes!

    They modernised the Ice Warriors surprisingly well, for once the threat in the story was not laughable, and I loved the fact that we saw an Ice Warrior out of it's shell! The story mixed the honourable good guy warriors of the Pertwee era with the evil warriors of the Troughton era. Wonderfully done, reminded me largely of "Dalek" which is one of my favourite Eccleston adventures.

    I love the whole loud stomping thing the new Ice Warriors have going on, I hope they bring them back again soon!
     
  9. diankra

    diankra Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2005
    Location:
    UK
    It snagged the TARDIS in space and tried to force it to land in an ambush. The Doctor rigged a device to shift the landing site a bit - hence the connection some fans make with the HADS...
     
  10. Worf2DS9

    Worf2DS9 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2001
    Location:
    Canada, eh
    I really enjoyed this episode, I think more than the last two. Loved the claustrophobic Alien vibe as the "monster" was hunted throughout the sub, and the less-is-more aspect with regards to Skaldak until the not-bad CG reveal (his arms seemed a little too spindly compared to what his big head would suggest though).

    The supporting cast was really good too, notably David Warner (in another water disaster situation!), Liam Cunningham (as the Soviet sub captain, his black & white beard wasn't the only call-back to The Hunt For Red October), and that guy who played Brutus in Rome & M's right hand in Casino Royale.

    I thought the Ice Warrior himself looked pretty great, and I liked the OMG moment when Clara realized the armour was empty. The CG version of Skaldak wasn't perfect, but it was a lot better than the Gorn in that Enterprise episode. And while the happy-jokey ending seemed to want us to forget the mayhem & death that just transpired, I have to admit I chuckled when the Doctor asked if the captain could give them a lift to the south pole. Also, the Ice Warrior spaceship was pretty awesome.

    Gave the episode a NIce Warrior. :bolian::
     
  11. RAMA

    RAMA Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 13, 1999
    Location:
    USA
    This was much better than recent adventures. I liked just about every aspect of the Ice Warrior from the suit, to storyline and background. What was lacking oddly enough--in a tight submarine thriller-was any real suspense. David Warner is fantastic and like STV, sadly underused here. l Loved the ending with the sub on the surface and one of the best spaceships ever seen on Dr Who!!

    Overall good, but not great.

    RAMA
     
  12. Haggis and tatties

    Haggis and tatties Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2002
    Location:
    Glasgow
    The episode did what it said on the tin once again and entertained for the 50 mins it was on, fantastic cast, it got a top vote for the great job they did with the ice warrior and costume, top stuff all round.

    I am still somewhat intrested by the Tardis not letting clara in, not seemily translating last week but working this week, and now this week moving by itself to get away from danger, now i wonder if Clara was actualy the danger the tardis was trying to get away from, and was the doctor testing this theory by fixing the auto thing that allowed this??

    Or possibly i am simply reading too much into it all. :)

    Anyway roll on next week.
     
  13. Sindatur

    Sindatur The Gray Owl Wizard Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2011
    Location:
    Sacramento, CA
    Why are so many people making a blanket statement that The TARDIS wasn't translating last week? There must've been 20 different Species in last week's episode, and Clara/the audience understood everyone she interacted with, expect The Barking Lady. The Judoon have never been translated by the TARDIS. Apparently some Species just aren't worth translating in The TARDIS' opinion or maybe she's incapable of translating some
     
  14. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2001
    Location:
    Sac, Ca
    Really wanted to like this, but just found it a little TOO conventional and by the numbers-- you got a sub stuck on an undersea cliff, you got a creature sneaking around Alien-style and killing people, and then you got a standoff where someone threatens to blow up the ship (which you know is not going to happen so there's no suspense there).

    Yeah the Ice Warrior was cool, but that to me was just not enough to make the episode work. And the fact every act of violence was carefully edited out made it hard for me to buy the threat anyway. It didn't help that there was no sense of geography of the sub itself, and that the editing was far too quick and flashy for a story like this.
     
  15. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2009
    Location:
    Great Britain
    It was certainly a traditional episode but it was suspenseful and engaging throughout. I'd class it as the most memorable Series 7 episode so far. Just watched it again and still hugely enjoyed it.
     
  16. Relayer1

    Relayer1 Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2011
    Location:
    The Black Country, England
    Nowhere near as good as the first one, but way better than last weeks !

    Crap sub interior, but extra marks for getting Clara wet...
     
  17. Cutter John

    Cutter John Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Is it just me or was this episode a bit on the short side? The running time on my copy only goes to a bit over 40 minutes.
     
  18. Haggis and tatties

    Haggis and tatties Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2002
    Location:
    Glasgow
    ^^Strange, your right, 41 mins 28 seconds on iplayer, why did i think this was 50 mins?
     
  19. throwback

    throwback Captain Captain

    Joined:
    May 27, 2011
  20. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 22, 2010
    Location:
    publiusr