The Snowmen Grading and Discussion Thread

Discussion in 'Doctor Who' started by The Nth Doctor, Dec 25, 2012.

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How do you rate The Snowmen?

  1. God bless us, every one! (Fantastic)

    45.3%
  2. Full of Christmas cheer (Very Good)

    32.4%
  3. Not a classic, but jolly good fun (Good)

    17.3%
  4. Not enough Robot Santas (Fair)

    2.9%
  5. Bah humbug! (Terrible)

    2.2%
  1. wamdue

    wamdue Admiral Admiral

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    this is the first time google has let me in, so im very late in my review this year (some threads are still off limits)

    I thought this was excellent, and one of Matt Smiths better episodes, anything that was wrong with S7a, is gone, and 7b is a highly amusing thrill ride, poking fun at itself, and many others, Mary Poppins and Sherlock.
     
  2. theonering

    theonering Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    I thought it was pretty good. I liked Clara and her interactions with the Doctor. Glad we got a chance to see Madame Vastra and Co. Again. I thought the plot line and villain were a little weak. But eh, it's always more about the Doctor and the Companion in the introductory episode. I'm digging the new layout of the control room, seems a lot for funtional and futuristic then the past few verions. However I wish they had kept the bronze color scheme.

    All in all a great finish to my christmas. Looking foward to more Jenna-Louise Coleman!
     
  3. Captain_Amasov

    Captain_Amasov Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I'm wondering if the the Great Intelligence is somehow connected to the many Clara's we're seeing, in that it is her that it is using to try and form a physical body to exist in.
     
  4. Cutter John

    Cutter John Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    And I'm back from GB. When four pages of posts turned up arguing that the Doctor was a bastard from not materializing the Tardis underneath Clara to catch her when she fell, I figured it was time to GTFO.
     
  5. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I never joined Gallifrey Base. The horror stories people bring back here are more than enough to make sure I won't even try to go there.
     
  6. Cutter John

    Cutter John Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Its enjoyable in small doses. Plus the news sections are generally useful. But yeah, once the whinging begins, I'm out of there.
     
  7. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I'm normally a huge Moffat fan, but for some reason this episode just didn't really grab me. The story didn't flow well as all, the snowmen plot was kind of a bore, and the ep was lacking much of the magic of the previous specials.

    It was really only the little moments that worked for me-- the TARDIS on a cloud, the Doctor's Sherlock Holmes routine, the reveal of the new Console Room, and of course the Doctor/Clara scenes.
     
  8. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I find it the opposite really. Being critical of the show seems to make you fair game for abuse in the eyes of the userbase and staff. I recall an instance where admin Arnold T Blumberg merged EVERY remotely critical thread no matter what it was about in to one big directionless clusterfuck of a "Moffat Who Criticism Thread" while the rest of the forum's threads were variations on "Matt Smith is THE Doctor" or "Rory is SO awesome".

    Also, somebody once made the observation that 20% of GBers' avatars are people with bad beards smiling awkwardly at the camera and it's RUINED the forum for me forever. See how many you spot on your next visit.
     
  9. jbny67

    jbny67 Captain Captain

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    She broke apart when she fell with Clara. The Doctor is doing something to her remains with the sonic screwdriver in the next scene that wasn't fully explained. What I took away from it was that he was removing whatever life force was still in there.
    The remains then were put into the London Underground box and used as a bargaining chip.
     
  10. Allyn Gibson

    Allyn Gibson Vice Admiral Admiral

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    It certainly makes All-Consuming Fire problematic. And the Benny audio with Mycroft Holmes.

    However, since All-Consuming Fire says that Holmes and Watson are merely pseudonyms to hide their real identities, it's possible that the seventh Doctor and Benny's adventure in All-Consuming Fire was with Madame Vastra and Jenny and Mycroft is another Silurian.
     
  11. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I don't know. I was entertained, but at the same time I didn't think it was that good. Or rather, it has several good moments, but the overall product isn't really all that satisfying.

    I'm not quite sure what to make of Dr. Simeon. Are we supposed to hate him because he's the willing accomplice of evil? Feel sympathy for someone who had a lonely childhood and grew up a villain as a result of being manipulated by the only thing he could relate to, which turned out to be an evil alien entity? Sometimes it's a good idea to leave this issue vague, let the audience make their own desicion. But this time, the way it played out it just felt like Moffat couldn't decide for himself which Simeon was supposed to be.

    The Snowmen themselves were rather underplayed despite being the titular bad guys, the fozen governess really didn't serve any point, the daughter with the nightmares was a plot point that didn't really go anywhere. And the less said about the annoyingly sentimental "snow melts because a family is crying on Christmas Eve" the better.

    Vastra and her gang were overhyped and didn't really stand out as much as they did in A Good Man Goes to War, though I have to admit their scenes were the highlight of the episode, especially Strax.

    I did enjoy the Doctor's character arc as a depressed loner brought back to the fold, and Clara's story and background was quite good even if she is another Moffat trope of someone overly complex with the wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey. Based on the trailer, the issue of Clara's identity seems to be ongoing for the rest of the season. The next River Song?

    And given how often everyone kept talking about the pond, it was too damn obvious there would be some sort of reference to Amy thrown in. Especially when Vastra and Clara play the "one word answer" game I knew damn well she was evetually say Pond and that would set the Doctor off.

    The new opening credits aren't as impressive as I was lead to believe. It's still the same basic variation of the theme we've had since Smith's run began and the floating head wasn't done properly.

    The Doctor says Strax was resurrected by "a friend." Who was this friend? I'm guessing Vastra or Jenny, otherwise why else does Strax choose to be their butler?

    So, the loss of Amy and Rory has made the Doctor into a chronically depressed loner who has parked the TARDIS on a cloud above Victorian England. If he really wants isolation, there are better places he could have gone. Hell, there's a greater percentage of planet or moons without life on them than with life. But okay deep down he wants to stay in contact with someone. What's so special about Vastra and her gang that he chose them?
     
    Last edited: Dec 26, 2012
  12. Shazam!

    Shazam! Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I quit looking at the action figure sub-forum due to an avatar of some big bearded dude with his mouth open wide.
     
  13. Blamo

    Blamo Commodore Commodore

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    My biggest problem with GB are those posters who let things become personal, either attacking individuals or the fanbase at large. Also those who tend to over exaggerate the positives/negatives of an episode/producer/era.

    I personally find that I spend most of my time in the current affairs section... But then I'm a boring person who is interested in the news and politics.

    I just have the avatars turned off, problem gone. That just leaves peoples personalities to contend with with no prejudices based on appearance.
     
  14. OmahaStar

    OmahaStar Disrespectful of his betters Admiral

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    In Star Trek, Doctor Who is a fictional tv show. In Doctor Who, Star Trek is a fictional tv show. Yet there is a current crossover series between the two that is being published right now.

    In one universe, Holmes is a fictional creation of Doyle. In another, he's a real boy. The Doctor hop-skops timelines and universes the same way Humans cross streets. Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey and all that.
     
  15. Alidar Jarok

    Alidar Jarok Everything in moderation but moderation Moderator

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    Can we please stop using "wibbly wobbly timey wimey" as a synonym for "a Wizard did it," especially since the explanation in Blink made sense and the whole point was just the metaphor getting out of hand rather than things not being explainable.
     
  16. lennier1

    lennier1 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    BTW: Why did Ian McKellen's voice initially sound like Patrick Stewart?
    Coincidence or a friendly jab at the fact that Stewart has been interested in playing a character on DW for years?
     
  17. OmahaStar

    OmahaStar Disrespectful of his betters Admiral

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    OK, now I want Patrick Stewart to play Rassilon. Or one of the Time Lords gone bad. Stewart as the villain would be incredible.
     
  18. Blamo

    Blamo Commodore Commodore

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    Well the Doctor is Merlin, so that'd make sense :)
     
  19. Ghost Bones

    Ghost Bones Captain Captain

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    Absolutely rancid television. Possible candidate for worst Who ever, though that's a field growing more crowded by the year.
     
  20. 1001001

    1001001 Serial Canon Violator Moderator

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    Well hello there, Mr. Sunshine!

    :lol: