The Day of the Doctore Review Thread (Spoilers?)

Discussion in 'Doctor Who' started by Brefugee, Nov 23, 2013.

?

So what did you think?

Poll closed Dec 21, 2013.
  1. Brilliant: Geronimo.

    188 vote(s)
    77.7%
  2. Very Good: Bow Ties are Cool!

    38 vote(s)
    15.7%
  3. Ok: Come along Ponds.

    10 vote(s)
    4.1%
  4. Passable: Fish Fingers and Custard.

    5 vote(s)
    2.1%
  5. Terrible: Who da man?

    1 vote(s)
    0.4%
  1. TJ Sinclair

    TJ Sinclair Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Yes, it's a gap, but I'm not all that worried about it. I'm still far more interested in who/what grabbed the TARDIS and made her explode.
     
  2. Orac Zen

    Orac Zen Mischief Manager Super Moderator

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    Given the presence of Tennant and Piper (and having avoided spoilers and all but one trailer), I went into this with extremely low expectations. I detest Tennant's Doctor beyond any and every attempt at description and I'd long since grown tired of Rose showing up so often after supposedly being Gone Forever.

    To my great surprise it ended up being quite enjoyable.

    Piper wasn't (irritating beyond belief / dribbling over the Doctor) Rose. Someone managed to get Tennant to tone down the usual insufferable mugging to a dull roar. Both very, very good things. Even Baker was subdued - also a novelty. So the things I'd expected to be unwatchable turned out much better than I'd expected or hoped. As an extra bonus, Clara wasn't as annoying as usual, either.

    I'll watch the repeat in a while and see if the whole thing falls apart but in general it seemed to make a reasonable amount of sense - or as much sense as new Who makes. Moffat managed to undo the whole absurd Doctor-as-destroyer-of-his-world thing without wrecking the characterisations of the RTD era. It's no "Blink"-esque masterpiece but it's not a complete mess either - on first viewing at least.

    Smith was quite brilliant; I'm going to miss him.

    I'll call it Very Good for now.
     
  3. TJ Sinclair

    TJ Sinclair Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Nothing will ever be that good again.
     
  4. The Doctor

    The Doctor Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I'm not sure I can speak bout this episode coherently yet. All I know for sure is that was thematically perfect. And the Baker cameo, what a delight! Revisiting old faces indeed.

    Moffat has done the impossible and surmounted the hype. Fantastic!
     
  5. Cutter John

    Cutter John Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

  6. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Do Gallifreyan's support bigamy?
     
  7. TJ Sinclair

    TJ Sinclair Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    By the time he marries River, Elizabeth is dust, so... what's the problem?
     
  8. TJ Sinclair

    TJ Sinclair Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I am curious, because I've been afraid to check... how bad are things on Gallifrey Base right now?
     
  9. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

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  10. Candlelight

    Candlelight Admiral Admiral

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    It was a very exciting episode which left a lasting impression. The best episode that Smith has appeared in since The Eleventh Hour (which should probably be called The Twelfth Hour), and I'm chalking a lot of it up to the awesome supporting cast. Tennant springs back into the role like he's never been gone, and John Hurt quickly adapts into character.

    In terms of tearing the timeline of the show to shreds, does this mean that:
    - Hurt uses the Moment to wipe out anything trapped within the time lock, somehow injuring himself and regenerating shortly after.
    - Eccleston's rant against the Daleks eventually leads Rose to absorb the power of the time vortex, and creating Bad Wolf.
    - Bad Wolf spreads herself throughout time, influencing the Moment, and creating a second time line where Hurt encounters his future selves and doesn't wipe out Gallifrey.
    - Which in turn leads Eccleston down a not so grumpy road and may or may not create Bad Wolf (although I'd imagine Eccleston would still be haunted by the Time War in general and the Emperor Dalek still survived so events of his season still played out as normal)

    But doesn't this mean then that anything inside the time lock (which I always assumed to be a large bubble surrounding the "war zone" or maybe even another dimensional plain altogether) hasn't been destroyed, so only Daleks in orbit of Gallifrey were destroyed and not the ones left on Skaro?

    The Zygon storyline was naff and took up too much time. Lots of references for the continuity buffs but I really wanted 75 minutes of Time War and Doctory angst. I never found the Zygons particularly interesting and the whole memory wipe scene was silly - wouldn't the Doctors suddenly forget about the Moment issue? Or can we chalk any plot hole we spot up to Bad Wolf...? (which isn't such a bad thing).

    The banter between the three Doctors was great. Smith calling Hurt Grandpa was good, and Hurt's rebuttle about Smith not being able to talk without flailing his arms was a good comeback.

    The final battle scene was great, Capaldi's cameo was a great touch. My only gripe would've been Hurt regenerating for a proper reason and not just so the time line can correct itself. And yes, great to see Baker again, although I thought David Bradley would step through the door as Hartnell.

    So Capaldi's arc will be the search for Gallifrey, and being the final incarnation of the Doctor I guess his finale would be to find it, and the Time Lords give him 13 new lives to play with.

    Good but not great, but certainly a fitting tribute to the show in its anniversary year.
     
  11. Candlelight

    Candlelight Admiral Admiral

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    Fixed your post.

    No need to thank me...

    :) :) :) :) :)

    *runs away*
     
  12. sidious618

    sidious618 Admiral Admiral

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    Really, really great. All the Doctors coming in to save Gallifrey at the end was perfect and made me smile. It's interesting how a lot of the pathos and emotion came from a Doctor we'd never seen before and it really goes to show just how talented John Hurt is that he brought us (or at least me) around within an hour and change.
     
  13. Orac Zen

    Orac Zen Mischief Manager Super Moderator

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    Whatever. :rolleyes:

    Just remember I can permaban you with very little effort. :p
     
  14. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I'm assuming the moment's conscience patched the Doctor's memory to insure and ensure continuity... It was after all already in his head playing with time and perception.
     
  15. Candlelight

    Candlelight Admiral Admiral

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    Craaaaap!
     
  16. Australis

    Australis Writer - Australis Admiral

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    That was one of the most amazing things I've seen on TV.

    "The interface is hot!"
    "Well, I do my best." :lol:

    Billie Piper was very good. Possibly because she wasn't Rose. :)

    A lot of people here are saying, "oh what a cop out. The Moment didn't happen!"

    Do you not remember: "Time can be rewritten".
    Key word "rewritten"
    Key syllable "re"

    When? In the painting there was one. Then later... there were three.


    The Moment was used. Gallifrey was destroyed.
    And then, later... it wasn't.

    I don't see what's so hard to get about that. Kind of like an alternate universe that is actually in the same universe, and only a few select participants can remember it happening. Time rewritten.

    All thirteen doctors. Note that.

    And PETER CAPALDI! Excuse me... old as I am, I did a BIG fistpump at that! :D
    (watched it again... still fistpumped!)

    I liked Osgood, scarf and all. :)

    I wonder what the significance of the painting in the background when Eleven (?) picks up the fez is.

    Grandad, Sandshoes and Chinny! :lol:

    "Compensating?"
    "For what?!"
    "Regeneration. It's a lottery." :guffaw:

    Glasses!

    "One of them is a Zygon"
    "I'm not judging you."

    "Loving the posh gravelly thing, very convincing."

    The funny lines just sparkled. And just kept coming! So many!

    Fifth's screwdriver destroyed, some say? Backups.

    All the homages to the past were just so good.

    And the Curator...

    Two very minor quibbles.

    One, they could have just used McGann instead of Hurt, but don't get me wrong, he definitely brought something to it. Just more consistency with the overall story across the board.

    Two, when he was regenerating into Ten(?), instead of saying "I hope the ears are a bit less conspicuous this time", it should have been "I hope I'm a ginger".

    But that was just fantastic. Does it make up for Season 7? Maybe. Just. Yeah.

    Still want to see an Eight series.

    And that Peter Capaldi look... oh, I'm keen for that.
     
    Last edited: Nov 24, 2013
  17. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

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    They specifically mention that the memory wipe only affects humans. Although I do agree the scene was a bit overly silly and convenient.

    I was kind of hoping for a Bradley appearance originally, but now I'm kind of glad they stuck to using only Hartnell himself for the 50th. Although I do think it's a shame they couldn't find a way to use the movie's original control room again. It would have been awesome to see it as part of the "glitchy desktop" scene instead of that strange hybrid Hurt control room they used.
     
  18. Australis

    Australis Writer - Australis Admiral

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    On a separate note, 'The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot is pretty funny.

    I see Georgina Tennant was a producer. I wonder if she knew someone to get that job?
     
  19. Emperor-Tiberius

    Emperor-Tiberius Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Actually, the Doctor says the timelines are, as a result of the change, out-of-sync. So when they leave, they will not remember anything about it. Which means the Hurt Doctor will regenerate into Eccleston, and Eccleston will be guilty about destroying his world, and Tennant will face Rassilon in his regeneration story without knowing the REAL fate of Gallifrey. All in order to preserve the original order of events.

    But you got the first part. So, technically, Rose helped save an entire planet, and really a civilization. Take THAT, Clara! :p
     
  20. Venardhi

    Venardhi Vice Admiral Admiral

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    One could assume that this battle-fleet is the last remnants of the Dalek empire launching a final hail-mary attack they would have never considered before.
    I thought it was fitting that the Doctor who saw the most violence in his life was allowed some peace in his final moments. It wasn't just correcting for the time line, his purpose was done and his body was burnt out.