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. Samurai8472

    Samurai8472 Admiral Admiral

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    [​IMG]



    From the trailers it looks like a mix of "The End Of The World" and "Impossible Planet"
     
  2. Timofnine

    Timofnine Saintly henchman of Santa Premium Member

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    Now that one was a bit different.... lol. I enjoyed it though :)
     
  3. Pindar

    Pindar Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    It looks like they spent a fortune on that episode. The aliens were pretty well realised and there were a lot of them.

    It had a lot of interesting ideas, even if the weren't wholly successful. I can see this dividing opinion, I give them full marks for trying something different but take one back for the resolution.

    Good stuff with him sneaking back in time to check out Clara's past to try and figure her out and her starting to twig to it.
     
  4. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I don't think there was enough story there and the concept was underdeveloped. Not big on it sadly.
     
  5. Bob The Skutter

    Bob The Skutter Complete Arse Cleft In Memoriam

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    Really? I thought it looked like they'd badly stretched the budget, none of the aliens even had faces that moved. The sets really limited. There were some interesting stuff that didn't really seem to hit properly. And to be honest the whole thing with Clara is grating. What is it with Moffat and the obsession that the companion has to be special, and the Doctor will have known/seen them through various parts of their life? Amy, River (in a round about sort of way), Reinette, now Clara, it's annoying.

    Personally I would say so far I'm enjoying it more than last series but there are some things that really are bugging me.
     
  6. Pindar

    Pindar Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    The sets were limited and the space scooter was made of wood, but then so is the TARDIS.

    He's the doctor he can be choosy about his companions.
     
  7. The Badger

    The Badger Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    An enjoyable enough episode, but for me it didn't quite gel. Partly this was due to the incidental music making the dialogue indistinct. The scene where the Doctor tells Merry about her uniqueness was particularly guilty of this, with overly dramatic music almost drowning out his words. Something softer, more gentle, would have suited the mood of the speech better, too.

    Or maybe I'm just getting old and need my ears syringed.
     
  8. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    No, Murray Gold just really is that shit.
     
  9. Pindar

    Pindar Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I don't usually find the dialogue hard to make out but the music really was too loud this week.
     
  10. Jax

    Jax Admiral Admiral

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    Old men the lot of you :p

    Average episode but not the weakest episode of season 7 (that was Power of Three). Nice concept with some charming moments but it never got out of 2nd gear, though I loved Clara again :drool:
     
  11. MickJo1701

    MickJo1701 Commander Red Shirt

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    Found myself staring at the clock wishing this episode would end so I could see the trail for next weeks one, not impressed at all.
     
  12. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I'm only 24 and I thought it drowned a lot of lines out.

    This is the correct opinion ;).
     
  13. Bob The Skutter

    Bob The Skutter Complete Arse Cleft In Memoriam

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    He can be choosy but I mean Amy "the girl who waited" and was special because there was this big mystery round her with the crack and the missing people and all that.
    River, all the backwards timey wimey stuff.
    Reinette, she manages to read his mind and know all about him, no one has ever done that.
    Now Clara who is "impossible." It's all well them being special because they have characteristics that the Doctor likes or are clever or whatever but these big impossible, unique, specialness just seems needless and pointless.
     
  14. Pindar

    Pindar Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Old? Definitely getting there, 43 I think, it gets hard to remember.
     
  15. TommyR01D

    TommyR01D Captain Captain

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    This was a catastrophically terrible episode! Perhaps not a Threshold level of actively trying to hurt the viewer, but it fell completely flat on every level, and I will probably forget it by next week.

    One comment said it was like "...a poor man's The Beast Below", and that was hardly a high benchmark to start with. Yes, it had some amazing singing and atmospheric flair, but we never actually learned what any of it was about. There was very little attempt to explain the back-story of the aliens, so you couldn't really understand what was going on. The plot was incredibly weak and it's only a matter of time before someone pathetically tries to pass it off using the "art" excuse.

    It was kind of like Star Trek 1: The Motionless Picture, except all tinted red instead of blue.
     
  16. Jon1701

    Jon1701 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Oh dear.

    Not much of this made sense, and even the bits that made sense didn't particulary interest.

    Smith acted his socks off at the end to try and save it, but I'm not sure how the monster-thats-actually-a-sun was defeated by a leaf.

    So the seven planets now have no sun?

    I love Doctor Who but this was right down there with the worst.
     
  17. Malformed

    Malformed Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    That's weird. I'm in the US, so I haven't seen it yet but when I saw the preview my first thought was "This looks like 'The Beast Below'."

    Hmmm... and I liked "The Beast Below" from a character standpoint. Not sure I'll care for this one and it's distressing to know that patches of the dialogue are inaudible because of the mix. That's a constant complaint.
     
  18. Rarewolf

    Rarewolf Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Not one I'll be rushing to rewatch, and I've watched Bells three times aready.

    Still I stayed awake, which didn't happen for half of series 6.
     
  19. Photoman15

    Photoman15 Commodore Commodore

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    Not for nothing, but doesn't Clara (in the poster above) look more like Amy?
     
  20. Lonemagpie

    Lonemagpie Writer Admiral

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    Fabulous. My wife and I were both in tears, we both loved the association of souls and stories and memories... It was so much more literary and mythical than we expected.

    Doubtless the majority will have hated it, but it was a favourite for us.