7X04 The Power Of Three (Grading/Discussion) (SPOILERS!)

Discussion in 'Doctor Who' started by Samurai8472, Sep 22, 2012.

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Grade "The Power Of Three"

Poll closed Oct 24, 2012.
  1. Geronimo!

    32 vote(s)
    26.7%
  2. Good

    60 vote(s)
    50.0%
  3. Average

    17 vote(s)
    14.2%
  4. Bad

    7 vote(s)
    5.8%
  5. The little boxes will make you angry

    4 vote(s)
    3.3%
  1. Ghost Bones

    Ghost Bones Captain Captain

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    If only!
    You're right, I'm just being a prudish stick-in-the-mud. Next week I hope River frigs herself off with the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. After all, kids are neither clueness nor innocent.
    That's a very good point. I'd forgotten about that. It's like storytelling's not a concern whatsoever.
     
  2. StCoop

    StCoop Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Oh, and would it kill people who work in TV and Films to take two seconds to understand what a defibrillator actually does?

    Hint: It doesn't restart non-functioning hearts.
     
  3. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    Does anyone know what a defibrillator actually does to a Timelord then?
     
  4. StCoop

    StCoop Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Absolutely nothing unless one of his hearts is in dysrhythmia. Which it wasn't.

    It also doesn't makes you jerk and convulse wildly.

    TV lies.

    Films lie.
     
  5. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    About a great many things...
     
  6. Timelord Victorious

    Timelord Victorious Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I figured Amy and Rory helped them off the Ship like Brian before they returned to the Doctor. Didn't the Doctor say, get them and yourself to safety or something to that effect?
     
  7. Pindar

    Pindar Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    You could still see them when they ran for it at the end.

    I presume they were being experimented on but it was a story thread that was undeveloped.

    The surgical drones or whatever they were, were gas mask face creepy though. I liked them.
     
  8. Ghost Bones

    Ghost Bones Captain Captain

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    A. Whatever the plot requires it to.
     
  9. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Amy should have pointed the sonic at it for a second or two then it would. Heck, she probably could've just pointed the sonic at the Doctor's heart.
     
  10. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    It was funny, clever, moving, ridiculous, innovative, everything that Doctor Who should be. I loved it. I'm gonna miss the Ponds.
     
  11. Nightowl1701

    Nightowl1701 Commodore Commodore

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    My guess is they were already dead - harvested by the "drones" and autopsied on to determine the most vunerable points of human beings. Freshly killed too, as the "drones" had been at their grisly work for months and would had to replenish their "stock" as the bodies decayed. Evil Hologram Guy had the info he wanted (go for the heart), he just didn't bother to shut them down and they continued cutting people up on autopilot. They just hadn't gotten around to cutting up Brian yet when Rory showed up.
     
  12. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I thought it was a nice, change of pace episode myself. It's always fun watching this Doctor interact with the modern world (since he does it so rarely), and the mystery surrounding the cubes was a good one. The moment where they all start behaving in strange and different ways was perfectly directed, I thought, and genuinely had me wondering "what the fuck is going on?!?"

    And the creepy robot girl in the hospital was a nice touch too.

    The only shame of it is, is that after such a great setup, the source of the invasion ends up being... just another alien ship in orbit. I would have loved something a lot less conventional than that, to go with the originality of the "slow invasion". But oh well. The Shakri alien was still sufficiently weird and creepy enough to get the job done.
     
  13. Timelord Victorious

    Timelord Victorious Vice Admiral Admiral

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    You're right... Didn't noticed that on first watch.

    Watched it a second time and saw them. Didn't bother me that much though, they were not showing any lifesigns anymore.

    I like the episode. It was a nice definitiv characterpiece that showed the Ponds belong with the Doctor.. well at least until next week and their unintentional departure. :(
     
  14. throwback

    throwback Captain Captain

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    For me, when I start the evening by watching a well-crafted story, such as A Town Called Mercy, any episode after it had better match the quality or it's gonna be a letdown. The Power of Three was a letdown. They spent a long time doing exposition, then they rushed quickly through the ending. The medical science in this episode was poorly handled. The people who had died would remain dead. Getting a heart going is not the same as turning an on-off switch. We may be mechanical, but we are not that mechanical. And I still attempting to piece what happen in the seven weeks that Amy and Rory were with the Doctor. He takes to them to a 1890's hotel room where they will be pampered, then suddenly they running for their lives and Amy gets hitched with King Henry VIII. Huh? And what is it with the 1800s' that has sci-fi writers thinking this is a great century? It was a lousy century. Why not some future time and place? Certainly, there are places that are more pleasurable and relaxing than a stuffy 1890s' hotel, even if it is posh by 1800's standards like the Savoy. And, can someone please tell me why Amy and Rory needed the blessing of Dad Rory for them to go an adventure? It wasn't important before, and, since one hopes that they are adults, they can make choices for themselves. I felt the father was handled poorly. Though I understood how Rory can be patient for 2000 years, I feel that the father was a source of comic relief. I didn't like it at all. There was only one moment that I felt worked, and that was when the Doctor was having a frank discussion with the father about past companions. For the life of me, I can't remember which companions got left behind. Overall, I think this is one of the weakest episodes for the eleventh doctor. I am hoping that next week can be better. It can't be worse.
     
  15. The Mirrorball Man

    The Mirrorball Man Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Of course I can understand it if you didn't like the show. The rushed ending for example is an obvious flaw of the episode, and I guess it may ruin the whole thing for some people. But non-convincing depiction of medical science and poor taste in centuries? Now that's a very unusual selection of grievances.
     
  16. StCoop

    StCoop Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Character stuff aside wasn't the whole point of the episode that that was what the Cubes were doing?

    And how did nobody in the hospital notice a little girl sitting there all day every day for a year?

    (And how amazing was it that out of all the places in the world they could be they were in Rory's hospital?)

    ***

    And don't forget kids, when Moffat does move on Chibnall's almost certainly going to get his job...
     
  17. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Definitely a case of cart pulling the horse, I think the cube plot was just an afterthought, the villain necessitated by series madate.

    Almost could be seen as a satire of the worst of the new era. Evocative but empty imagery like the girl and orderlies that are discarded when done. Tacky cardboard villain behind it all ends up just being typical ugly old dude with hoary sub-Earth Stood Still motivations. Everything is reversed with no consequences (look how much people are worked up the Doctor might have missed six people, we know what Tennant would have said...."I am SO sorry."). Even Brian just sitting around for days until summoned seemed like some a bit of a jibe.

    My favorite part is during the Shakri's speech they show Stewart saying "Tell the Secretary General it's not just hospitals and equipment, it's people. Our best hope now is each other.". Sooooo inspiring.

    And the Doctor sure hasn't done a good job keeping his identity quiet has he. I have a feeling that subplot will soon be forgotten as well.
     
  18. Deckerd

    Deckerd Fleet Arse Premium Member

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    Oh well you should have said you weren't serious about the criticism either. Humour; a delicate thing.
     
  19. doubleohfive

    doubleohfive Fleet Admiral

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    About the only problem I had was the very rushed ending and Amy's very rushed narration, as if including the line about "cubed = the power of three" was an afterthought the day she went in for ADR.

    On the positive side, it's nice that Amy's not just a model anymore but actually writing for a travel magazine... I guess I wasn't the only one thinking it was a bit of a slap in the face to make her a model (someone valued by her looks), at least, when stacking her up next to the former companions and their ultimate career choices.
     
  20. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    You don't know that, in fact not so long ago you were saying Whithouse was a shoe-in to get the job. He's written eps in every Moffat series after all? Chibnell hasn't.

    I'm not sure I want either of them, but frankly Chibnell has written two enjoyable episodes this year, so if he did get the job I'd at least give him a chance.