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. Sindatur

    Sindatur The Gray Owl Wizard Admiral

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    And let's not forget baby that he was speaking to Stormageddon
     
  2. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Doctor Who is not Star Trek. The series is not big on technobabble. If the Doctor is flying through space on a scooter, and that doesn't kill him, there's no need to mention that somehow the scooter is protecting him: it's obvious.
     
  3. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    The TARDIS never translates the Judoon, they have to translate themselves. Although RTD explains in The Writer's Tale the Judoon aren't intelligent enough for the TARDIS to consider them sentient, so it doesn't translate their language. Maybe it's a similar situation here, the TARDIS is only translating aliens with a certain IQ?
     
  4. Psion

    Psion Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    It isn't technobabble to provide explanations to reasonable questions. Amy asked "What are we breathing?" when dangling from the TARDIS in "The Beast Below", and the Doctor gave a reasonable, non technobabble explanation.

    In this case, we were shown an entire system that seemed to have a breathable atmosphere where it should have been open space. As bryce noted, like Niven's The Integral Trees. Not only that, but the apparently earthlike environment on those asteroids included normal gravity. Anyone with a third-grade grounding in science should have been wondering what was going on there. Why didn't Clara? One of the reasons for a companion in the show is to ask the questions the audience must be asking.
     
  5. Mr Pointy Ears

    Mr Pointy Ears Captain Captain

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    Think the 1st 2 epsiode of the 2nd half of season 7 werent that great,got a feeling the rest of the season isnt goin to be as god as the first half was.
     
  6. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    "I've been wondering... what are midi-chlorians?"

    No, really, that doesn't sound like a scene I may have been interested in watching.
     
  7. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    Why would the TARDIS have a problem with River? The only real reason her story is complicated is because the Doctor always meets her in the wrong order. There is nothing inherently problematic about her existence.

    Clara, on the other hand, has died at least twice in two completely different time periods, yet is also alive and kicking as a normal 21st Century girl.

    River's existence might be complicated, but Clara's is impossible.
     
  8. Mister Fandango

    Mister Fandango Fleet Captain

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    They were riding a space scooter obviously designed to be used to jump from asteroid/moon to asteroid/moon. Anyone with half a brain wouldn't be wondering about the minute details of how it operates, because it's obvious that it was just a space scooter designed for jumping between asteroids/moons.

    Regarding midicholorians, I've never understood why people thought they were the source of the Force. The way they were talked about, it was clear that they were simply an indicator of it; ie, they increase in number the more powerful you likely are with the Force. Not that they have anything at all to do with it whatsoever.
     
  9. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    My point was relating to something someone said about Clara being a threat to the Doctor, and clearly River was, technically, a threat to the Doctor as well!
     
  10. throwback

    throwback Captain Captain

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    As for the TARDIS not liking Clara, I think that people are forgetting that the ship did more than lock the doors. The ship made a noise and the lights flickered dangerously, like someone expressing disapproval and/or anger.

    Science has always been dodgy in this franchise. I remember reading commentaries on this series, published by Mad Norwegian Press, in which the commentators discussed the science and demonstrated how flawed it was.

    I think the TARDIS, as an individual, selects which languages are translatable, based on her own subjective evaluation. She does seem to have given the Doctor greater latitude in the navigation of the ship; it was a running theme in the franchise that the Doctor would select one place and land at another.
     
  11. Cutter John

    Cutter John Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    With so many languages being spoken, maybe the Tardis needed to prioritizing which aliens needed to be translate in order to conserve resources or processing power?
     
  12. Worf2DS9

    Worf2DS9 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    On 2nd viewing, what really bugs me is the lack of closure for Merry and the people on the asteroid, or whatever it was. Clara is successful with the leaf maneuver, then bam they're back in present day London, with the Doc mentioning that "all the people you saved" wanted Clara to have her ring back. Seems to me the usual "farewell scene" was missing, which would have had them saying goodbye to Merry, then the TARDIS would disappear in a swirl of dust, much to the delight of the little girl.
     
  13. Mr Awe

    Mr Awe Vice Admiral Admiral

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    ^ Good points. I think giving the ring back was supposed to be shorthand storytelling to the effect that everything was resolved in a good manner. The rings were not disrupted by defeating Grandfather and they all lived happily ever after.

    Still, it did feel rushed. The whole ending was weak.

    Mr Awe
     
  14. Samurai8472

    Samurai8472 Admiral Admiral

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  15. Klaus

    Klaus Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I agree that several of the problems w/this ep are related to rushing... not even mentioning the atmosphere or gravity questions and the quick wrap-up, for example. It's like they had to cut it down for time.

    The question of the TARDIS not liking Clara is pretty obviously the most important thing going forward... I agree that it's not likely to be just a throwaway phrase. And River was never in the TARDIS while she was an active threat to the Doctor, only afterwards [and before, pre-natally]... but it's got to be more than just that she's a threat to him. Bad guys have gotten inside many times.

    The TARDIS has frequently allowed multiple versions of the same person from different points in their timelines to be inside together, beyond even just the multi-Doctor occasions, so it's more than the different incarnations of Clara.

    I still like my "Eternal Companion" idea. :D
     
  16. Samurai8472

    Samurai8472 Admiral Admiral

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    Someone suggested that Clara's mom is an auton. The 9th doctor killed the nesstine consciousness on March 5 2005
    which is the day Clara's mom died
     
  17. Psion

    Psion Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    She did seem a bit heavy-handed with the makeup ....

    Naaaah.

    Although there were no details given on her mum's death ....

    Naaaaaah.
     
  18. Slugboy

    Slugboy Commodore Commodore

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    I don't think anyone else mentioned this, but I thought the actress who was cast to play Merry did a good job. She managed to hit the "adorable" target without overdoing it and becoming annoying, and gave a believable performance as a little girl who served as a vessel for her culture's history (as implausible as that idea is)

    From a plot viewpoint, I can't figure out why Merry thought it was a good idea to pin Clara to the Mummy's display case using telekinesis (at least, that's what it looked like).

    Also, I wondered if the wristband that the male Chorister activated was a teleportation device or some sort of suicide device.
     
  19. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    ^I'd agree she was good, I'd also agree that what went on in that chamber could have done with being clearer!
     
  20. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Doctor Who has had quite a lot of very talented child actors since 2005. It's impressive.