8x08 Mummy on the Orient Express (Grading/Discussion) SPOILERS!

[sttngfan1701d]

On a sidenote I dislike the term Matt Smith or Tennant fangirls. It tends to come off as disrespectful. People watch shows or are fans of shows for different reasons and I don't feel it's right to differentiate between right and wrong reasons.

I'm not saying it's right or wrong. But there are absolutely people who watch shows purely because a certain actor or actress is involved, and there are ABSOLUTELY Matt Smith fangirls who tuned out of the show simply because he left. I personally know several. You may think it's a disrespectful term (and I think you're splitting hairs over it), but it's an accurate one.

It's like "shippers." Over time, their investment in a show evolves and eventually is primarily due to a desire to see characters couple. Some "shippers" like a show for other reasons than that, and others stop watching a show when things don't go the way they want or imagine with a coupling. I saw that firsthand with the Chuck (people left early in the 3rd season because they were impatient) and Gilmore Girls fandoms.

You have never seen a Tumblr page, I guess.

Besides, there's an underlying notion to the word that implies girls or women can only watch shows where they fancy the lead actor which is nonsense.

Now that's nonsense. The "implication" is only in your head.

 

[Saul]

I think he just left it behind the sofa.

Anyone want to bet that it's in the TARDIS, maybe heated by the Eye Of Harmony?

Sounds a bit like Red Dwarf being on Starbug all along exploring Lister's Boxers.

 

[intrinsical]

You know, I get the feeling that Clara is turning into The Doctorwannabe. Face it, she's seen all 12 reincarnations of The Doctor, saved him countless time. No other human knows The Doctor as well as Clara... So much so that she thinks she can take over the title.

You might right according to this teaser for the next episode:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqJb4OmNn_U

For once I actually guessed correctly?
No. Freaking. Way.

The fact that its shown in a teaser tells me that its probably meant to be misdirect the viewers. Something else will happen. So yeah my predictions are still wrong. The world's right side up again

 

[Guy Gardener]

Clara was splintered into a billion pieces and spread across time and space, living complete lives as different people and even different species, so that she could intersect with the Doctor's ongoings for moments where she mostly instinctually course corrected the Great Intelligences fiddlings.

At the end of all that, all those Splinters ignorant that they were Clara after they saved the Doctor, lived their lives and died.

The Clara in the TARDIS at the moment is built from the memories of the Doctor of her life, not from the real Clara's parents bumping uglies.

Clara was fathered by the Doctor from the meat of his mind.

Clara is the Doctor who thinks that she is Clara.

 

[Mr Light]

I can never keep track of Moffat's sense of reality and continuity.

Is there still a million Claras out there in the timestream or was that all erased?

Or was it all immediately cancelled out with the Great Intelligence's million splinters?

If there is, I would love for Clara to meet one of her other selves.

 

[Guy Gardener]

As I understood it, the intelligence and Clara only played with his First regeneration Cycle, since their shenanigans were guided by his "corpse" (yes I know it's not a corpse) left behind after his death on Trenzelor.

Capaldidoc is free and clear of any botherings, since he is the Doctor who did not die at trenzelor and who exists after the lifetime of the Doctor recorded in that scar.

 

[The Wormhole]

I can never keep track of Moffat's sense of reality and continuity.

Is there still a million Claras out there in the timestream or was that all erased?

Or was it all immediately cancelled out with the Great Intelligence's million splinters?

Maybe.

 

[Ubik]

On a sidenote I dislike the term Matt Smith or Tennant fangirls. It tends to come off as disrespectful. People watch shows or are fans of shows for different reasons and I don't feel it's right to differentiate between right and wrong reasons.

I'm not saying it's right or wrong. But there are absolutely people who watch shows purely because a certain actor or actress is involved, and there are ABSOLUTELY Matt Smith fangirls who tuned out of the show simply because he left. I personally know several. You may think it's a disrespectful term (and I think you're splitting hairs over it), but it's an accurate one.

It's like "shippers." Over time, their investment in a show evolves and eventually is primarily due to a desire to see characters couple. Some "shippers" like a show for other reasons than that, and others stop watching a show when things don't go the way they want or imagine with a coupling. I saw that firsthand with the Chuck (people left early in the 3rd season because they were impatient) and Gilmore Girls fandoms.

You have never seen a Tumblr page, I guess.

Besides, there's an underlying notion to the word that implies girls or women can only watch shows where they fancy the lead actor which is nonsense.

Now that's nonsense. The "implication" is only in your head.

No, it's in my head too. And it's in the word itself. The word "fangirl" is infantilizing, and does very blatantly suggest that a woman (or "girl") is watching the show because they are gigglingly attracted to the male actor. If you don't buy that the term seems sexist, at least realize that it's dismissive and stereotyping. (I am not questioning anyone's motive for using the term - I'm just pointing out that an uncomfortable reaction to the word is perfectly predictable and legitimate.)

In any case, on one of the main subjects, I think the rhetoric surrounding the "darkness" of this Doctor is overstated. He is not rude or cruel or anything like, say, Colin Baker's Doctor was - most of the time, if not all, he's actually RIGHT. Certainly in this Mummy episode, what made the drama so compelling for me is that the Doctor's apparent coldness was absolutely the right choice, given that people had only 66 seconds to gain enough information to save everyone. I find his directness, his seriousness, and his lack of quirkiness extremely refreshing, after the maddening Mad Hatteresque shenanigans of Smith's portrayal. I find myself really loving this Doctor. He reminds me very much of Tom Baker on his more mysterious days.

 

[I am not Spock]

I have one comment relating to Clara's costume in this episode...

BEWBS!

That is all. Oh, and I liked it.

Was it? I didn't notice.

I lie of course.

Clara indeed looked gorgeous in the 20s get up.

Made the episode for me.

Well, it was an entertaining episode and a return to form anyway. I voted 'good' for this one

 

[I am not Spock]

Her lying to Danny makes me think I'm watching General TARDIS instead of Doctor Who. This show does not need to be a soap opera.

Agreed! And it's not. What makes you think it is?

All the deception and lying. If I wanted to watch a show about a woman lying to her boyfriend, I'd watch General Hospital. There are at least four such storylines going on on that show right now.

I've never had any problem with this and it always surprises me to hear that others do. I usually watch the show alone and often with headphones, so that might be a factor.

A lot of people have complained about how fast they talk.

I'm not a native speaker and I usually understand most of it, though I did struggle with Capaldi's accent a bit during the first couple of episodes. For some reason the background music is unduly loud on the set-up I'm watching on. (I hope this is not how it sounds for all of you because that would be a major screw-up.) So sometimes, I have a hard time understanding the dialogue because of that but not because they're talking fast.

The music did drown some dialogue in this episode.

My mother refuses to watch NuWho because the music drowns out the dialogue so often. It's at a high volume , and in virtually every scene.

 

[Samurai8472]

12 impersonating the 4th doctor-- You know what this sounds like don't you?


12- No. Do tell.

12 impersonating the 4th doctor-- A Mummy! That only the victim can see!



That was the best IMO

 

[Robert D. Robot]

^ That is my favorite part, too. ..... Well, that and the Jelly Babies being offered in the 'cigarette' case. I would rate those bits as "Brilliant!"

I like the concept that the Doctor may be able to play off and debate with 'aspects' of any of his earlier incarnations as a means of thinking through a problem. Thus Twelve offers the researcher a Jelly Baby in the moments following the 'brainstorming', while Four's 'presence' is still fresh in his mind.

[Despite what I have just said, however, I wouldn't want to have such 'debates' happen on anything but a rare occasion. As an example, while I get a kick out of hearing the line, "I see you've redecorated. I don't like it!", I think that it has been overused recently.]

 

[The Wormhole]

As an example, while I get a kick out of hearing the line, "I see you've redecorated. I don't like it!", I think that it has been overused recently.]

Moffat does have a bad habit of constantly recycling jokes, as indicated with how often we hear "timey-wimey."

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Originally I wrongly posted a factoid about Flatline here so to keep it from being a total waste I'll edit in one I read about Mummy.

The writer was given the title from Moffat and was then tasked to write a story around it.

 

[publiusr]

Y'know the Cybermen would be awesome augmented with the technology from the mummy. They'd finally be silent and deadly again!

The time needed to die. I wonder if someone made contact with the mummy early--then jumped away as time was running out--force the issue--throw off the count.

 

[Malformed]

OKay – I get my Doctor from iTunes, so tomorrow morning, so I passed the time I rewatched this episode. Picked up so much more that was so good but

1) Why exactly did the Mummy not drain the Doctor? Because he recognized his real identity? Okay, I guess but!

2) How did Clara and what's-her-name get out of the locked room? That really bugged me. Did I miss something?

3) And how did the Doctor get all those oxygen-deprived folks into the TARDIS?

4) And why did the sonic magically start working again?

These things really kept this from being a truly great ep for me.

I can handle moonlike eggs being laid by space dragons, and even the fancy that our trees can protect us from solar flares but the above four things really pulled me out of the story.

Still, I love Coleman and Capaldi

Love this board, and I await your thoughts. Thanks

 

[Alidar Jarok]

The Mummy stopped because he was a soldier and his enemy surrendered. That was the magic phrase "we surrender" that would cause him to stop.

 

[Captrek]

Why would a soldier salute someone who had just surrendered to him?

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Did he salute? I may have missed that.

Of course, if it's an alien soldier, does a salute mean the same thing?

 

[The Wormhole]

1) Why exactly did the Mummy not drain the Doctor? Because he recognized his real identity? Okay, I guess but!

Because the Doctor surrendered thereby indicating to the Mummy his war was over, the enemy had given up.

2) How did Clara and what's-her-name get out of the locked room? That really bugged me. Did I miss something?

That was explained, the Doctor told Gus he needed Clara's friend since the research proved she was the Mummy's next victim and so Gus unlocked the door. The broken control panel only meant that couldn't be used to unlock it again, clearly an override from the train's master computer did the trick.

3) And how did the Doctor get all those oxygen-deprived folks into the TARDIS?

He teleported them, this was also stated in dialogue.

4) And why did the sonic magically start working again?

Meh, who cares?