Here's hoping Maisie Williams isn't portraying a pre-established character.
"The Girl Who Died" Grading and Discussion Thread
- Thread starter The Nth Doctor
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Is this a start of a two parter or just a single episode? Looking forward to seeing what Williams' brings to the show, even though I haven't watched Game of Thrones since the end of Season 2.
AIUI sort of in between, with this week and next being related but not a single story split down the middle like the last two weeks.
Full spoiler-filled review published early. Oops!
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2015/10/16/doctor-who-season-9-episode-5-recap-the-girl-who-died/
The "Reason why the Doctor looks the way he does" explanation comes in this one and the answer is very, very dull.
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2015/10/16/doctor-who-season-9-episode-5-recap-the-girl-who-died/
The "Reason why the Doctor looks the way he does" explanation comes in this one and the answer is very, very dull.
This was easily the cheesiest episode of Doctor Who since the revival.
1. The face of "Odin" in the clouds was an obvious Holy Grail reference.
2. They sure are determined to get their money's worth out of those orange space suits from Sanctuary Base Six.
3. The viking house where the Doctor and Clara have their conversation 40 minutes in looked like a redress of the barn set from the fiftieth anniversary.
4. How many of the younger viewers even remember The Fires of Pompei at this point?
1. The face of "Odin" in the clouds was an obvious Holy Grail reference.
2. They sure are determined to get their money's worth out of those orange space suits from Sanctuary Base Six.
3. The viking house where the Doctor and Clara have their conversation 40 minutes in looked like a redress of the barn set from the fiftieth anniversary.
4. How many of the younger viewers even remember The Fires of Pompei at this point?
Meh. They'll know Tennant from the 50th, and the scene where Donna asks him to "just save someone" will clue them in that he once broke the rules to save Caecelius.
Kids are smarter than you think. Or did the electric eels not give that away?
Awful, awful, awful.
If you're doing a series with 22 episodes, sure go ahead and do a dopey comedy episode but when you've only got 12 most of which are halves of a two-parter don't waste any of them.
And it looked sooo cheap. Odin's outfit seemed to have come from one of those Halloween shops that pop up at this time of year and The Mire didn't look much better. And if you're going to resue sets while barely changing them don't do it in the very next story you broadcast.
If you're doing a series with 22 episodes, sure go ahead and do a dopey comedy episode but when you've only got 12 most of which are halves of a two-parter don't waste any of them.
And it looked sooo cheap. Odin's outfit seemed to have come from one of those Halloween shops that pop up at this time of year and The Mire didn't look much better. And if you're going to resue sets while barely changing them don't do it in the very next story you broadcast.
From the clumsy, poor directing and Python-esque Odin in the sky to the fake Viking horn helmets and the dumb nicknames, the episode felt very cheesy. Worst of all, the whole episode felt like a lame set-up for Ashildr to gain immortality and to the explore that idea yet again...but not until the next episode (although the teaser didn't seem all that promising on that front). Plus, the unnecessary explanation for why The Doctor looks like Caecilius which we all knew was coming and dreaded.
The only good things about this episode was Maisie Williams herself and a few funny one-liners ("What's the one thing gods always do? Never show up!"). The rest was meh.
The only good things about this episode was Maisie Williams herself and a few funny one-liners ("What's the one thing gods always do? Never show up!"). The rest was meh.
The weakest episode of the Capaldi era bar none, a total fluff of an episode that felt like it belonged on CBBC at times. It was just boring, with a rushed premise, cardboard cut out villain, Deus Ex Machina/cheap techno outs at every point. The only redeeming points where the fact that they might make Maisie's character actually interesting next week and they did reference the Doctor's face question from last year.
The whole little chip keeps her alive forever
then why aren't these things mass produced and every villain has one. Doctor Who needs to hold back sometimes from OTT statements - just make it something that can extend her life a long time and heal from most injuries just don't claim immortality ffs.
The whole little chip keeps her alive forever
then why aren't these things mass produced and every villain has one. Doctor Who needs to hold back sometimes from OTT statements - just make it something that can extend her life a long time and heal from most injuries just don't claim immortality ffs.
That would have indeed made the episode more bearable. Alas.
Yeah, that really bugged me as well. Jack achieved his immortality in the most dire and unique of circumstances. This was a mere handwave.The whole little chip keeps her alive forever
Oh, for fuck's sake guys, lighten up. It was fun, it set up the rest of the season, and we got some nice character moments.
It doesn't all have to be fucking Zagreus. I watch this show to be six again for an hour a week.
It doesn't all have to be fucking Zagreus. I watch this show to be six again for an hour a week.
A dissapointing episode after a decent series of episodes. I think I'll agree that it looked cheap, cheesy and it was overally too comedic. I don't mind humor in Doctor Who (in fact, its essential to its charm), but whoever said this is this year's Robots of Sherwood, is spot-on.
And really, didn't the Fires of Pompeii reference feel forced and came out of nowhere? Really. Moffat's fingerprint is all over that.
Anyway, it still had some decent scenes with the Doctor and Clara, and Williams was great, so its still not the worst of Capaldi, and is still far better than Sherwood from last year.
And really, didn't the Fires of Pompeii reference feel forced and came out of nowhere? Really. Moffat's fingerprint is all over that.
Anyway, it still had some decent scenes with the Doctor and Clara, and Williams was great, so its still not the worst of Capaldi, and is still far better than Sherwood from last year.
Meh. They'll know Tennant from the 50th, and the scene where Donna asks him to "just save someone" will clue them in that he once broke the rules to save Caecelius.
Kids are smarter than you think. Or did the electric eels not give that away?
My concern is that, instead of making a verbal reference, or some kind of allusion, they just jumped straight in and replayed the 4 second clip without any kind of context or explanation. I can understand when they do stock footage flashbacks to earlier episodes in the same series (or even one before, if there are still plot arcs and character arcs ongoing), but the reference here was to an episode ninety months, two incarnations and a show-runner ago. If you hadn't seen The Fires of Pompei you might wonder what the hell you just saw.
Then again, I wondered that about a lot of this installment.
If their target audience is to be six year olds they shouldn't be showing it so late that it goes in post-Watershed viewing time.
I've loved this season up to this episode. And I wanted to love this episode, too, if for no other reason than for Maisie Williams. But the episode was too damn cheesy. Yeah, yeah, so were parts of the classic series, but stuff like the Python-esque head of Odin and the damn horned helmets are easily avoidable.
It's funny you mention Zagreus because it seems to me most people hate Big Finish's Zagreus.
For the record, I love Zagreus.
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And yet you saw it.
Well, he did have co-writing credit...
"Robot of Sherwood" was indeed terrible but it wasn't nearly as bad as "In the Forest of the Night." In either case, this episode was better simply because of Maisie Williams.
Dr Who was harmless fun, did manage to get me with the bit about losing people and immortality (a regular thing of mine) but it wasn't as good as the four previous episodes - I mean, I hate to be that guy, but I really can't get past the horned helmets. Yes they were fine in the 60s when people didn't know any better, but not now. And How To Train Your Dragon has spoiled us with incompetent Vikmings.
