7X07 The Rings of Akhenaten (Grading/Discussion) (SPOILERS!)

Discussion in 'Doctor Who' started by Samurai8472, Apr 6, 2013.

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Grade "The Rings of Akhaten"

Poll closed May 7, 2013.
  1. Geronimo!

    15 vote(s)
    11.7%
  2. Good

    50 vote(s)
    39.1%
  3. Average

    36 vote(s)
    28.1%
  4. Bad

    18 vote(s)
    14.1%
  5. Terrible

    9 vote(s)
    7.0%
  1. Mister Fandango

    Mister Fandango Fleet Captain

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    I really don't know. To be honest, I don't know how or why people put so much emphasis on background music during a show. Sure, really, really bad music can slap you across the face if it's truly jarring, but the vast majority of the time it's exactly that; background music. I rarely even notice it because I'm usually paying attention to the story and what's going on, not desperately looking for any excuse to hate a show I keep trying to convince myself I like.

    I've also noticed that the people who bitch about background music also tend to be the same people who miss all the blatantly obvious things that are going on, asking questions that were addressed by the episode itself. Last week it was about where the Doctor got his "magic motorbike," for example. So, yeah, I feel pretty confident about this mini-rant.
     
  2. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    Which is funny to me, because while I definitely enjoy the whacky adventures, I watch Doctor Who for the people. The main reason I can forgive some of the nonsensical storytelling of Moffat's Silence/River/whatever arc is because I was so very moved by how those events affected the characters on an emotional level.
     
  3. The Nth Doctor

    The Nth Doctor Infinite Possibilities... Premium Member

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    Lost in a temporal and spatial anomaly
    I knew there was something I forgot to mention in my post. I loved that part. Maybe The First Doctor would have, but not anymore. This has become core for The doctor.
     
  4. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    I really enjoyed that as well, along with his follow up that they only run to protect something they care about.

    All that running he does isn't for him. It's to get his friends out of harm's way.
     
  5. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    BTW, is the Doctor supposed to still be laying low?
     
  6. Timelord Victorious

    Timelord Victorious Vice Admiral Admiral

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    The sonic's ability to battle the closing door and the 3 guards was a bit to convenient, but consistent in this case.

    Technology in this society was sound based... hence all the singing.

    So it makes sense that a sonic screwdriver was the ultimate tool here.
     
  7. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Overall I thought it was pretty charming and fun (especially the opening and seeing Clara's initial reaction to the world of Akhaten), but I agree all the stuff with the "Old God" on the asteroid didn't work as well, and felt decidedly cheap compared to the scope of the rest of the episode.

    I mean, seriously, if this god can't break out of a glass prison how terrifying can he be? Although I will say the three enforcer-type dudes were a really cool and creepy design. It's too bad the writer didn't ditch the god stuff and have THOSE guys chasing the Doctor and Clara around for the whole episode.
     
  8. jbny67

    jbny67 Captain Captain

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    It was never mentioned in the episode, but I remember reading a plot synopsis, before it aired, that said the planet's rings had an atmosphere.
     
  9. Cutter John

    Cutter John Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    A spacegoing jetbike would be pretty damn useless without a force bubble of some sort to keep the air in.
     
  10. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah to me the other Clara's seemed much more vibrant and exciting as well, but I have to admit with this episode I'm slowly starting to warm to the new version.

    There's something slightly mysterious and inscrutable about the way Coleman is playing her that I find kinda interesting. And I like that she actually regards the Doctor with a bit of healthy suspicion, and isn't immediately enchanted like most other companions.
     
  11. Captain_Amasov

    Captain_Amasov Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Oh right, that's one damn impressive leaf. Maybe the Doctor should've had that as his companion this time round. :D
     
  12. Captain_Amasov

    Captain_Amasov Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I like Martha, or at least the idea of her. I just didn't like the character assassination that RTD performed on her throughout series 3.
     
  13. tomalak301

    tomalak301 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Mar 2, 2003
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    San Jose, CA
    That might be the most amazing part of Fandom. I do remember how popular Rose was, yet now it feels like revisionist history. Same thing is happening with the Ponds now.
     
  14. Aldo

    Aldo Admiral Admiral

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    It is kind of annoying that all the companions nowadays have to have something spectacular happen to them for them to leave the Doctor. Whatever happened to the old days where they just got tired of it and wanted a change? Rose is off in another dimension, Martha joined Torchwood, Donna got her memory wiped clean and the Ponds got trapped in the past forced to live out their live (happily though).
     
  15. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Are you really asking? Martha's story was about quite explicitly about unrequited love.
     
  16. Captain_Amasov

    Captain_Amasov Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Admittedly I suppose 'potential' would have been a more fitting word. However what I saw in her first episode was an independant, smart medical student who was very much in control of her life and feelings. Who then got turned, throughout the run, into the exact character you just described.

    I seem to remember RTD mentioning during one of the podcasts, that were released after the episodes aired, that Phil Collinson wasn't a fan of what he did to Martha, mostly the 'unrequited love' angle, that became the whole focus of her relationship with the Doctor.
     
  17. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I thought it was pretty clear from the start that Martha had the hots for him, so I never saw any inconsistency there. And while I agree it would have been better if they had never gone there in the first place, I thought Freema herself still had more than enough personality and charm to make up for it.

    It was only later, when they tried to make her some kind of badass UNIT agent, that I thought the character felt really off.
     
  18. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I find that puzzling. Surely unrequited love is a theme we can all sympathize with to some extant? What's the problem with that?
     
  19. Aldo

    Aldo Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah I didn't care for her joining UNIT at all. I would have rather she just turned out to be a highly skilled Doctor who'm The Doctor turns to occasionally for help after she left.
     
  20. Worf2DS9

    Worf2DS9 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Canada, eh
    I liked the episode for the most part (the early bits with Clara & Merry, the Doctor visiting points in Clara's past, the Hellboy II-esque alien bazaar, the visuals), but my mind started to wander with the god planet stuff, the operatic weirdness, and the Doctor's shouty storytelling to the planet. It'll definitely require a rewatch.

    Oh, and in response to whoever mentioned Clara resembling Amy in the episode poster art, I thought that too the first time I saw it. I guess it's the orangey tinge the artist decided to give her hair.