The prequel's up

Discussion in 'Doctor Who' started by Starkers, Mar 23, 2013.

  1. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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  2. StCoop

    StCoop Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    So anyone else work out exactly what the "twist" was fifteen seconds in?

    And it would be nice if the man who gets paid to write for a living would look up the word "Prequel" in a dictionary at some point.
     
  3. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I had the twist predicted halfway through.

    Interesting the Doctor is wearing is "old" costume. I was under the impression he was wearing the new darker outfit for all post-Pond episodes.
     
  4. Allyn Gibson

    Allyn Gibson Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Moffat doesn't have a very deep bad of tricks. When the little girl walked in, I smiled -- and groaned.

    Moffat's "prequels" are more cut scenes than standalone pieces. (This one may have been better in that regard, though, as it did have a clear beginning, middle, and end.) Still, this scene would have been fine as a pre-credits teaser in the episode, much as the prequels to "Asylum of the Daleks" were necessary backstory.
     
  5. Allyn Gibson

    Allyn Gibson Vice Admiral Admiral

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    At first I thought this took place for the Doctor between "The Angels Take Manhattan" and "The Snowmen," but then he talked about losing his friend "twice," so it has to be after.

    Costuming error, I guess.
     
  6. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah, actually, no. Words don't come from the dictionary, they come from writers, and they're there for them to do as they please. The dictionary is just a retirement home for words that no longer change.
     
  7. StCoop

    StCoop Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Banana fish, sasquatch archapeligo antediluvian xylophone. Mediterranean?
     
  8. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Sometimes.
     
  9. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah I got the twist, and yeah hardly original, but you know what, when Matt Smith's involved I really don't care. thought it was great. As for writers pulling from the same bag of tricks, you mean like Russell T "Hang on what if the new companion had a mum who was a bit of a harridan?" Davies?
     
  10. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Well, truth is every writer has a set of the same tired old tropes they keep revisiting. Still doesn't make the twist in this prequel any less predictable.

    That being said, this is one of Moffat's better episode prequels.
     
  11. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Cute, but yeah, it is too reminiscent of the Doctor meeting Amy as a child first.

    And yeah, words evolve, but there's no sense using a word improperly when there's already a perfectly suitable word for the thing in question. The word for this would be "prologue" or "prelude," not "prequel."
     
  12. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    That's true, though I suspect it's a one-off gag and we won't see young Clara anymore.

    But a prologue or a prelude is not a separate installment, it's part of the story itself.
     
  13. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    That may be true of "prologue," admittedly, but the word "prelude" can often be used for an independent work that precedes a bigger, more important work.

    And how do you define "part of the story itself" for a serial story? This was titled as part of "The Bells of St. John," but in content it was more a continuation of the character thread started in "Asylum of the Daleks" and "The Snowmen." Which, come to think of it, would make it more properly an interlude than a prelude.
     
  14. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I think the term "prequel" was used to imply that it was attached to the "Bells of St. John" episode and that it takes place before that show, but that it's not necessarily required viewing and that you could as well see it afterwards or not at all if you so wish.
     
  15. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    RTD delivered the exact same series finale 4 times. It's impressive he got away with it.

    I never get too bothered about these. I never even watch them again once the episode has aired. Forgotten what 99% of these TARDISodes, prequels, prologues and Pond Life episodes were even about. And I'm a hardcore Who nut.
     
  16. Smoked Salmon

    Smoked Salmon Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Moffat recylcing his old ideas and showing the young girl companion again, eh?

    How original.
     
  17. Konata Izumi

    Konata Izumi Commander Red Shirt

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    Deep feeling. Best mini episode after Space & Time. Sometimes mini episodes are almost more exciting than full episodes, before airing that is, as there's less room for screwing up. Who can be a frightening show sometimes. That said Pond Life's middle episode was poor as it was just one joke and nothing else, the others were better. But that was the only bad one. And the main show's usually great.
     
  18. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah this is just 2.5 minute mini little episode I just can't believe people using as another stick to beat Moffat with because it's not the most original thing ever, and perhaps it shouldn't have been called a prequel!!

    I'll critisise Moffat on his scripts, but full episodes, this is just a little vignette to whet the appetite, it's not supposed to be up for a Hugo or anything, and yes it was obvious who the little girl was, but it gave us another 2.5 minutes of Matt Smith, and given he won't be around forever it's two and a half extra minutes I'd rather have than not have!
     
  19. Newspaper Taxi

    Newspaper Taxi Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Actually, I think Clara was a Dalek the first time he met her. Very few companions have been daleks when the Doctor first met them -- save for maybe R2-D2. (He saved Artoo from his Dalekness, but the process he used banished him to a distant place, time, and possibly universe.)

    I think this was a really cute short. Matt Smith has really good chemistry with children on screen -- it's always really fun to watch him.
     
  20. Cutter John

    Cutter John Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Ah, people use any excuse to pound on Moffat these days. Its like American politics.


    I noticed they used BGM from Vincent and the Doctor for this one.