Listen, and other random musings

[Gingerbread Demon]

OK first off I just watched Time Heist again. Fantastic episode.

Series 8 and 9 for me are my favourite series of Doctor Who. Series 5 had it's moments but that whole Amy's crack in her bedroom wall thing just felt a little flat to me as a plot device. For me series 8 and 9 were the best....

But yeah I watched Listen again and despite what has been said online I still think there was a creature under that blanket on the bed when they were talking. I don't care what explanation was given there was something there that was deliberately kept out of focus and it wasn't human. I also think the writing on the Doctor's blackboard and other things that happened in that episode happened by similar means.

What do you guys think?

Favourite Capaldi episodes for me were

Mummy on the Orient Express
Time Heist
Flatline
The two parter Zygon story - but that one also gave me the shits at some points
The two part intro ane two part ending to series 9. Brilliant stuff.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

The interesting thing for me is, series 8 has mellowed in me since its release. The arc is pretty weak, and the resolution is absolutely horrid (the dead arise as Cybermen? really? Danny Pink overrides the Cybermen? really?) but several episodes are nice to see. Even Listen, which I still hate for its last act ("lets shoehorn Clara, the Warrior and the Barn into a pointless First Doctor period scene, because I'm Steven Moffat and I like to rewrite Doctor Who after my own image!"), I can enjoy immensly up until that point. Whereas series 9, which I liked at the time more, I can't quite sit through. I like the good two-parters, and the Clara-Doctor dynamic is still fine, but the arc is definitively the worst of NuWho, and probably of all of Who, Me is the worst and most annoying recurring character of NuWho, and I Hell Bent is the most nonsensical, fanwanky episode of ALL of Doctor Who (and I'm even including Bidmead's nonsensical Castrovalva in the mix). I STILL don't know what the hell the Hybrid was all about!

So, overall, so-so feelings for his series. Capaldi shines through, though. I admit he takes getting used to, especially after the immediately accesible three Doctors before him, but he's just as great once you settle on his groove. He's perfect in series 9, and I wish he stays for long enough, as I simply want a good run for him - and I'm afraid Moffat won't be giving one for him.

I mean, at least Matt Smith one and a half decent series.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

The interesting thing for me is, series 8 has mellowed in me since its release. The arc is pretty weak, and the resolution is absolutely horrid (the dead arise as Cybermen? really? Danny Pink overrides the Cybermen? really?) but several episodes are nice to see. Even Listen, which I still hate for its last act ("lets shoehorn Clara, the Warrior and the Barn into a pointless First Doctor period scene, because I'm Steven Moffat and I like to rewrite Doctor Who after my own image!"), I can enjoy immensly up until that point. Whereas series 9, which I liked at the time more, I can't quite sit through. I like the good two-parters, and the Clara-Doctor dynamic is still fine, but the arc is definitively the worst of NuWho, and probably of all of Who, Me is the worst and most annoying recurring character of NuWho, and I Hell Bent is the most nonsensical, fanwanky episode of ALL of Doctor Who (and I'm even including Bidmead's nonsensical Castrovalva in the mix). I STILL don't know what the hell the Hybrid was all about!

So, overall, so-so feelings for his series. Capaldi shines through, though. I admit he takes getting used to, especially after the immediately accesible three Doctors before him, but he's just as great once you settle on his groove. He's perfect in series 9, and I wish he stays for long enough, as I simply want a good run for him - and I'm afraid Moffat won't be giving one for him.

I mean, at least Matt Smith one and a half decent series.

I am glad we all have different opinions. Good post.

I think the thing is I have read Peter is leaving at the end of series 10. Yet to be confirmed or not but I have read that around the place.

 

[TommyR01D]

I wish we could get a Doctor who'd stay for more than three series. I feel like Capaldi has been wasted in his tenure so far.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

I wish we could get a Doctor who'd stay for more than three series. I feel like Capaldi has been wasted in his tenure so far.

I think he's been bloody brilliant.

I blame the writers if there's been shitty stories. There's only so much an actor can do.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Capaldi's been enjoying it, and I don't see why he'd want to leave. Even in the Christmas clip a week ago he looked excited and into it as ever. I'm certain a decision hasn't been reached yet.

And yeah, I do think he's been wasted, overall. Two story arcs that really don't hold up, and lots of shitty stories for him to plow through and make 'em interesting. If he at least had a series 4-like smash hit under his belt, that'd have been something.

 

[The Wormhole]

Listen is an alright episode for showcasing Capaldi and his performance as the Doctor, but the storyline really doesn't hold up much at all. So the Doctor's looking for some elusive alien monster despite the fact we've already had several on the show which match the criteria he's looking for (ironically, from Moffat episodes) like the Silence or Vashta Nerada, though they are not mentioned in the episode. And then, in the end we get a rather anti-climactic ending in which there is no monster after all, it's just some self-fulfilling prophecy and that there is nothing to fear except fear itself. Which is a fine message, except it's kind of the overall message of all Doctor Who, so making it the point of this episode isn't really adding anything new or interesting, it's just rehashing what we already know.

 

[Solid Snack]

The Daleks have used corpses for raw materials before, why not Cybermen? If anything, the analogy works a bit better with them, given that they have a tendency to hang out in "Tombs".

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

The Daleks have used corpses for raw materials before, why not Cybermen? If anything, the analogy works a bit better with them, given that they have a tendency to hang out in "Tombs".

They're tomb raiders...... Run Lara run you're next.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Listen is an alright episode for showcasing Capaldi and his performance as the Doctor, but the storyline really doesn't hold up much at all. So the Doctor's looking for some elusive alien monster despite the fact we've already had several on the show which match the criteria he's looking for (ironically, from Moffat episodes) like the Silence or Vashta Nerada, though they are not mentioned in the episode. And then, in the end we get a rather anti-climactic ending in which there is no monster after all, it's just some self-fulfilling prophecy and that there is nothing to fear except fear itself. Which is a fine message, except it's kind of the overall message of all Doctor Who, so making it the point of this episode isn't really adding anything new or interesting, it's just rehashing what we already know.

Still doesn't (for me) explain what was under that blanket. We clearly saw something, and I don't buy for one moment that it was just a kid.

 

[TommyR01D]

Listen is an alright episode for showcasing Capaldi and his performance as the Doctor, but the storyline really doesn't hold up much at all. So the Doctor's looking for some elusive alien monster despite the fact we've already had several on the show which match the criteria he's looking for (ironically, from Moffat episodes) like the Silence or Vashta Nerada, though they are not mentioned in the episode. And then, in the end we get a rather anti-climactic ending in which there is no monster after all, it's just some self-fulfilling prophecy and that there is nothing to fear except fear itself. Which is a fine message, except it's kind of the overall message of all Doctor Who, so making it the point of this episode isn't really adding anything new or interesting, it's just rehashing what we already know.

I've even seen MrTARDISReviews describe Listen as the Best of Steven Moffat. It's essentially all of his old bits (Timey wimey, creepy children, implausible characterisation, screwing with canon for the hell of it etc.) lumped together.

 

[The Wormhole]

I've seen the terms "Moffat's Greatest Hits" or "Moffat's Victory Lap" used to describe much of season 8.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

I liked some of season 5 but it felt a bit like it was the Amy Pond show with the added intro we got before the opening credits each episode with her voice over. But having watched the show over the years via box sets and such I found that for me series 8 and 9 were the ones I'd repeat the most.

I feel ever since series 5 the companions have taken a larger role and sometimes overshadowed the Doctor to a degree.

 

[The Wormhole]

I liked some of season 5 but it felt a bit like it was the Amy Pond show with the added intro we got before the opening credits each episode with her voice over.

That was actually season 6, and even then only in the North American versions of the episodes, and even then only when they were broadcast on TV, the narrations were removed on the DVDs.

 

[Mr Soak]

We got those intros in Australia...

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

That was actually season 6, and even then only in the North American versions of the episodes, and even then only when they were broadcast on TV, the narrations were removed on the DVDs.

My mistake season 6, I just checked the DVDs and our version has the voice over....

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

We got those intros in Australia...

Yes exactly........ And it made it annoying to watch sometimes.

 

[The Wormhole]

We got those intros in Australia...

Odd. I remember Moffat saying those narrations were done at the request of BBC America because "Americans need narrations." I know they definitely didn't have the narrations in Britain.

My mistake season 6, I just checked the DVDs and our version has the voice over....

They definitely weren't included on the North American DVDs. I remember praising them for that.

 

[Mr Soak]

Odd. I remember Moffat saying those narrations were done at the request of BBC America because "Americans need narrations." I know they definitely didn't have the narrations in Britain.

Probably one international master made by BBC Worldwide.

 

[retroenzo]

There were narrations? Didn't get those here, but then I am in the land of Doctor Who anyway (Cardiff!)

I am a big fan of Capaldi's Doctor though. I always say that my favourite Doctor is always the current Doctor, but in Capaldi's case, I think he'll be my favourite Doctor for a while, unless the next guy (or girl) brings something even more special to it.

Favourite Capaldi episodes for me were
...
The two parter Zygon story - but that one also gave me the shits at some points

I find this one quite amusing personally because of the nature of my job. I monitor CCTV and two of the buildings in this episode are on our watchlist. In fact, we see quite a bit of the tower blocks in Doctor Who on our screens and it always amuses me when I see them appear in Doctor Who.