7x06 The Bells of St John - review/ discussion

Discussion in 'Doctor Who' started by 3chordboy, Mar 30, 2013.

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How do you rate 7x06 "The Bells of St John"?

Poll closed Apr 9, 2013.
  1. Poor

    2 vote(s)
    1.4%
  2. Okay

    17 vote(s)
    12.2%
  3. Good

    21 vote(s)
    15.1%
  4. Great

    39 vote(s)
    28.1%
  5. Outstanding

    42 vote(s)
    30.2%
  6. Geronimo!!

    18 vote(s)
    12.9%
  1. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    Good call, but for me (and this is just me being nitpicky), a real bottle episode is one that uses pre-existing sets, and they are often some of my favorites. One that always stands out to me is TNG's "Disaster." Lots of stuff happening, but it's all on board the Enterprise.
     
  2. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Maybe there weren't a ton of big effects sequences, but the episode still looked MUCH more stylish and expensive than anything in the RTD era.

    Especially in the outdoor scenes, where it looked more like an episode of Sherlock, or one of the sleek and modern looking Bourne movies.
     
  3. Alidar Jarok

    Alidar Jarok Everything in moderation but moderation Moderator

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    The third Doctor Who serial ever was that.
     
  4. Ar-Pharazon

    Ar-Pharazon Admiral Premium Member

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    Reminded me of Eccleston's "how can you be ringing?"

    I guess he just wired it up to the inside "phone line".
     
  5. DWF

    DWF Admiral Admiral

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    Try the first Doctor's story Edge Of Destruction.
     
  6. The Lensman

    The Lensman Commodore Commodore

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    All of that would've been fine and worked better if it were the 3rd Doctor. But the 3rd wasn't befuddled by any of this stuff when he started living on Earth. He wasn't confused about human's, jobs, money, women or courting women. Why should he be? He'd already had at least one child of his own.

    So watching 11 mentally revert to someone who act's like they've just arrived on Earth is somewhat annoying at times. Thankfully Smith has the talent to make it bearable, if not funny. However, after interacting with humans for roughly 600 years, and given that 3 wasn't as confused, then the older 11 shouldn't be stumped by a single thing in the area of "humans".
     
  7. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    It helps when you have more than one room for a set.
     
  8. Awesome Possum

    Awesome Possum Moddin' Admiral

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    He does seem to have spent a lot of time alone, he could have gone a bit odd over the years.
     
  9. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    Sure, but that doesn't mean it's impossible to do with just one room.
     
  10. Ghost Bones

    Ghost Bones Captain Captain

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    They both blubber around like twits and make me a bit ashamed to call myself a fan of either franchise.
     
  11. ROBE

    ROBE Commander Red Shirt

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    I have to laugh at some fans calling the show childish compared to RTD's day.
    So farting aliens are mature?
     
  12. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Doesn't mean you should either! ;)

    I think more than most shows the TARDIS is basically just a means to get from A-to-B.
     
  13. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    As with everything, it depends on the story.
     
  14. BlakeCrichton

    BlakeCrichton Cadet Newbie

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    Apr 1, 2013
    I admit to some surprise that there is a George Orwell aficionado in this thread and I'm the only guy connecting some diverse notions, like "The Bells of St. Johns" reminds me terribly of

    "Oranges and lemons, say the bells of Saint Clemmons" the nursery rhyme dimly recollected by Winston Smith, and this episode of DW references the plethora of cameras in London, and the Great Intelligence even has a rather 'Big Brother-esque" cameo.

    Joined to say that. All the reviews talk about how the episode title was promptly forgotten after ten minutes, but I snapped immediately to Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-four and was watching sharply for related social commentary. And was not disappointed.

    But who knows?
     
  15. Awesome Possum

    Awesome Possum Moddin' Admiral

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    Are you aware that you don't have to watch the show?

    Also if any Doctor was close to Jar Jar, it was the 2nd. It's an incredibly poor analogy, but that's as close as possible to him. Close in the sense that Earth is close to the Sun.
     
  16. Gepard

    Gepard Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Didn't Smith say at some point that he's based his performance on the 2nd?
     
  17. Awesome Possum

    Awesome Possum Moddin' Admiral

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    Seems about right, he plays the Doctor like a toned down 2nd Doctor with the more alien aspects of the 4th.
     
  18. Ghost Bones

    Ghost Bones Captain Captain

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    Yes, someone or other always mentions it whenever I post. I have addressed the question numerous times, and I'm not sure you're really interested in the answer.
    I strongly disagree. I don't think there's a more similar character to Matt Smith's "Doctor" in all of fiction than Jar Jar Binks.
     
  19. Awesome Possum

    Awesome Possum Moddin' Admiral

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    You keep saying it, doesn't make it any more cleaver or even accurate. Nice try though.
     
  20. Cutter John

    Cutter John Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    I've just taken to skipping Bones posts entirely. Every week they're pretty much the same tired snark.