Spoilers Survivors of the Flux grade and discussion thread

Discussion in 'Doctor Who' started by The Nth Doctor, Nov 27, 2021.

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How do you rate Survivors of the Flux?

  1. Brilliant!

    11.4%
  2. 9

    4.5%
  3. 8

    31.8%
  4. 7

    15.9%
  5. 6

    4.5%
  6. 5

    18.2%
  7. 4

    2.3%
  8. 3

    2.3%
  9. 2

    4.5%
  10. Rubbish!

    4.5%
  1. The Nth Doctor

    The Nth Doctor Infinite Possibilities... Premium Member

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    [​IMG]





    Just two episodes to go! Will we actually get answers about The Doctor's past with the Division or about The Timeless Child? Will we see more of The Fugitive Doctor? And will Bel finally get to be part of the main story?

    But, most importantly, will The Thirteenth Doctor get to meet Kate Stewart?! I will be very miffed if Kate finally returns and we don't get that meeting! And more than five seconds, please!
     
  2. ThreeEdgedSword

    ThreeEdgedSword Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Couple of new pics for episode 6 (!)
    Crossposting from General thread (had not seen this one):
    New photos for episode 6.

    Maybe the tunnels will get Yaz, Dan & Eustacius out? Our friend Williamson is back.

    First pic: Is the Doc wearing a new badge? Or did I just never notice?
    [​IMG]


    The handwritten note in the last image says:
    December 5th. Far Future. Two Thousand And Twenty-One!!

    https://www.tvzoneuk.com/post/dwflux-ep6pics-27nov
     
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2021
  3. The Nth Doctor

    The Nth Doctor Infinite Possibilities... Premium Member

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    Yeah, that's definitely a new badge. I can't think of any tree imagery from the past so that must be some new reference. Very curious.

    And yeah, those tunnels definitely appear to be used for space and time travel...
     
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  4. ThreeEdgedSword

    ThreeEdgedSword Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Dec 5 is the day of episode 6, btw.

    Ooooh, I'm a Fleet Captain!

    ETA: Just realized the pics in my previous are from ep6, as I initially thought, then I got confused. I'll insert some spoiler tags. Grrr. Sorry.
    The BBC have released a few images ahead of the final episode of Doctor Who: Flux next weekend. The images have been released prior to the broadcast of episode five. This is due to TV listings and magazines being published earlier in the run up to Christmas.
     
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2021
  5. Mr Awe

    Mr Awe Vice Admiral Admiral

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    At the beginning of this series, I predicted that the funny tunnels will matchup/be related to the new, funny doors appearing in the TARDIS. Wondering if that'll be what happens!

    @The Nth Doctor Great to see you doing the review threads!
     
  6. The Nth Doctor

    The Nth Doctor Infinite Possibilities... Premium Member

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    Ah, thanks for the correction. I think my response to your post is pretty vague and the badge itself doesn't appear to be spoilery.

    Ah, I wondered the same from the back of my mind. Would be even curiouser if...one of those tunnels goes directly into the TARDIS! :eek:

    Thanks!
     
  7. Lonemagpie

    Lonemagpie Writer Admiral

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    Thank fuck the poll is back to a comprehensible format...
     
  8. Emperor-Tiberius

    Emperor-Tiberius Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Chibnall. Does. Not. Know. How. To. Write. Character.
     
  9. Lonemagpie

    Lonemagpie Writer Admiral

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    Well, that was... I'd love to do stories about the 1904 team (Murdoch crossover included), and the Grand Serpent and his Goa'uld symbiote getting involved with the creation and monitoring of UNIT was also great. The revelations were basically just totally expected and predictable except for who was attacking Karvanista and Bel's ships, and the rest of it just reconfirming the Timeless Child stuff, which still only has one logical outcome. Good cliffhanger though, and next week looks fun. Ironic that both Swarm and Ser[ent are so much better at playing the Master than poor old Sacha Dhawan. Cos they're written more like he should be.
     
  10. The Nth Doctor

    The Nth Doctor Infinite Possibilities... Premium Member

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    Much like the first episode, there are a lot of moving parts and I'm not sure if everything quite came together by the end, but I think it does. I can only be certain after a rewatch which I intend to do with the rest of the series before the finale.

    I loved watching Yaz, Dan, and Jericho globetrot in desperate search for answers (even if I couldn't help but wonder how they could afford it all...), but I am a little disappointed that the plotting wasn't clear on how they got the starting part in their search. Yes, The Doctor left Yaz with the mission objective but she didn't give them anything concrete to work with. It's not a big deal, but it did annoy me a bit as that plot thread played out. As expected, they finally meet up with Williamson at the Liverpool tunnels which are indeed time portals not unlike Iconian Gateways. A pity such a fun sci-fi conceit will probably be regulated to practically a footnote because of everything that is going on and I expect we won't see much of them after the gang uses them to escape the Sontarans.

    One thing I hadn't expect from this episode was seeing the Grand Serpent again and his role in manipulating time specifically with UNIT and I'm not clear on his motivations and if he as any connection with Swarm and Azure. While it was fun to watch Craig Parkinson chew up the scenery over the decades, concluding with his tense face-off against Kate, I'm not sure what purpose this particular plot thread served, other than a longwinded means of reintroducing the Sontarans (that felt really anticlimactic, I have to say). Considering Kate escaped his assassination attempt against her, she lives to see another day and she (and Osgood!) damn well better get the chance to meet The Thirteenth Doctor.

    Speaking of whom, we did get more answers The Doctor's past and her connection with The Division. Barbara Flynn's Awsok turning out to be Tecteun also felt anticlimactic but also inevitable, although I did enjoy the verbal sparring between her and The Doctor about, well, everything. As for the answers themselves, it's more or less what I expected based on what has been laid out before, but I'm not really a fan of the idea of The Doctor's entire wanderings through time and space simply cast aside as a virus in the universe and all of that. I'm also not a fan of how quickly Awsok/Tecteun was disposed of after she served her "purpose" of exposition dumping. Seems like a great waste of future character development and a waste of Flynn's talents.

    Undoubtedly, we're not going to much if any reveals from the fob watch and it's simply placed there as something future showrunners (and not just Davies) might want to play with. But I do hope we at least get more of The Fugitive Doctor in next week's finale.
     
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  11. Seven of Five

    Seven of Five Stupid Sexy Flanders! Premium Member

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    8 out of 10. Not quite as gripping as last week's, but still good.

    I was fully along for the ride, even if I don't think I quite grasped every little detail. ;) At least like the rest of the series so far, there has been a lot of humour.

    Yet another good cliffhanger. Can't believe it's the last one already. Oh, wait, yes I can, it was only 6 episodes long. :D
     
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  12. Kirks_Flying_Wig

    Kirks_Flying_Wig Commander Red Shirt

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    I really expected the pacing to have picked up this late in the series, but instead we get another episode of meanderings and set-ups that I really can't imagine will pay off.

    I did enjoy Yaz, Dan and Jericho's storyline (apparently they chartered the same ship with the same cabin the whole time). Kevin McNally was still excellent even though he didn't have quite as much to do acting-wise as last week. Handy that Liverpool is looking like the centre of the shrinking universe right now, would have been an inconvenience if Dan had been from Gloucester and wasn't a massive tunnels nerd.

    The Grand Serpent's storyline still feels too detached from the rest and unless he's going to turn out to be the real Big Bad of the series, I don't see what impact he is going to have on it all other than just being there to pad out the runtime of the episodes. I think the Doctor's scenes were the weakest of the episode, just one long exposition dump of the Flux and the "mystery" of her origins that never needed to be solved.

    Guest stars, apart from McNally, it was great to see Jemma Redgrave back. For an actor so heavily-promoted before the series it was odd to see Robert Bathurst only get two scenes. Still, it did give him the opportunity to add another Posh Twit With Vacant Smile character to his IMDb page. Barbara Flynn's character and her giant Exposition Control Room was of course in no way anything like Fionnula Flanagan's character and her giant Exposition Control Room from Lost. It did take me until this episode to figure out who Craig Parkinson reminded me of as the Grand Serpent, when I realised he seems to be playing him the exact same way he played the loan shark character in an episode of Black Books.

    A big tantalising teaser for next week's finale, which hopefully will have some decent character resolutions over and above a big Sontaran space battle. I can only hope.
     
  13. matthunter

    matthunter Admiral Admiral

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    I'm still confused as to whether the Grand Serpent and Swarm are meant to be the same entity.... they share a love of purple and gold embroidered clothing. But Vinder hasn't made the association, and he'd be the most likely to....

    As for the fob watch, it looked pretty clear to me that it gets used next week. But then that could be a fake-out.

    Either way, Chibbers has me invested in this.

    Get your dog. The Doctor knows Karvanista doesn't have time travel. So either she's prompting him to co-opt Sontaran tech, or Division tech (he was an agent... perhaps he can trigger a recall to Division himself and thus provide backup to the Doctor?)
     
    Last edited: Nov 28, 2021
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  14. The Nth Doctor

    The Nth Doctor Infinite Possibilities... Premium Member

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    I'm glad I'm not the only person who was reminded of Eloise Hawking, a comparison I made two weeks ago when we first met the character.

    I've wondered the same but they're played by two different actors and considering Azure has been played by the same actress in both "forms," I'm guessing they're not suppose to be the same. On the other hand, Swarm himself was played by two actors in his crystal form sooo...who knows.
     
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  15. JoeZhang

    JoeZhang Vice Admiral Admiral

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    So UNIT was running in 1958 and that is when The War Machines happened... and the brig was a member then and a corporal?

    huh? I know we like to debate the UNIT timeline but that's a whole other level...
     
  16. Asbo Zaprudder

    Asbo Zaprudder Admiral Admiral

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    A corporal, not being commissioned, couldn't become a brigadier without pursuing a commission and going to officer training school, could he? Climbing to the rank above colonel should take years. That seemed really weird. But what the hell do I know? Perhaps UNIT has very different rules about gaining promotion.
     
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  17. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    Well that was reasonably enjoyable and reasonably annoying in equal measure. Yaz, Dan and Jericho make for a fun team but damn they trotted the globe with ease. Almost felt like their story could have been an episode in itself. Parkinson taking over UNIT from within was fun, and for a moment I genuinely thought Chibnall was going to kill Kate :eek:

    The Doctor stuff though? God The Timeless Child all over again, the Doctor stands there while someone else drones on and on. God the Division is so linear and, well, straightforward. Where's the mystery gone?

    Can't believe there's only one episode left, feels like there's a lot to tie up in one episode. Maybe Chibnall will stick the landing, I hope so, but I fear he won't.
     
  18. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    Oh yeah, someone on Twitter's just pointed out, so the whole time Pertwee was on Earth UNIT had a fully functioning TARDIS in a back room? :lol:
     
    Last edited: Nov 28, 2021
  19. The Nth Doctor

    The Nth Doctor Infinite Possibilities... Premium Member

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    Stymied by bureaucracy once again! The left hand didn't tell the right hand what the left hand had and the right hand needed!
     
  20. ThreeEdgedSword

    ThreeEdgedSword Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Well, those were 50 minutes and 34 seconds that I'll never get back. 45 of which must have been exposition dumps.

    My disjointed* first thoughts:

    Clunky dialogue/ monologue all around.. If your story needs your characters to babble to themselves, it may just not be very good. And I'm sorry, you don't add yet more new characters/ subplots in the last act of your "self-contained" story...

    Multiverse, ofc... Every show needs one, apparently.

    Poor Jodie having to dreamscape/ expo dump it while the companions at least got a poor version of Indana Jones....

    Holo Doc exposition dump
    Mommy Dearest exposition dumps
    Companions exposition dumps (but at least they got a bit of action)
    Unit General exposition dumps

    BAD comedy (Nepal)

    GOOD, involuntary comedy: Reversing the polarity!

    "You denied me my life"- really, THAT'S your problem? Not the torturing and multiple killing of the TC?! But ofc, then there would be no reason for the NICE bio parents in this whole story, right? (no spoilers)

    Grand Serpent expo... Oh, I'm not really listening anymore...
    Kate speechifying ...

    How convenient, the 3 years in between episodes, for some more off-screen Yaz development! Why write that in, right?

    Bye, Mom!

    Liked:

    "Tough crowd!"
    And bits of Holo Jodie... She really does make the most of what she's given.

    That's it. Oh, Yaz looks nice in period clothes. Yeah, don't tell me I'm not trying!

    4/ 10 - and only because I like the "Rose" like spacecrafts. Worst episode yet. And that includes ep 1, which was basically a 50min trailer, and ep3.

    * Discipline in writing is overrated anyway, right, Chris?!
     
    Last edited: Nov 29, 2021
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