Spoilers Empire of Death grade and discussion thread

[jaime]

I wouldn’t worry if she’s back for all or part. I suspect digi is mostly right (and it’s def been said) the bigger problem is… do we believe RTD when it comes to the fact he says both seasons are the ruby story (which means this whole bunch of sequential endings we just watched are all pork pies anyway, for the vibes) or will he just say anything that he hopes will get viewer interest?
It makes Chibnall’s utter lack of presence in his era almost preferable at times.

 

[Mr Awe]

So, is Mrs Flood really the Rani/Rain or is RTD taking the piss again? I don't think she's Melody Pond as she has a cruel streak. Flood is s very fond of monologuing, which I don't recall being a trait of the Rani.

So this is why I've suddenly lost all interest in who Mrs Flood is. Given the whole reveal debacle (ok, I know some like, but it fell flat for me), but it's seems apparent that the mystery build up is all to do about getting people chattering and not really about good storytelling. Even if you like the idea that Ruby's birth mom is a normal person, the build up throughout the season wasn't leading to that.

So, I'm not going to bother speculating or caring about who Mrs. Flood is. And there's been plenty of hints, mostly false I'm sure, about who she is.

Confusion just to get people talking isn't my thing. I can still enjoy other aspects of the show but not that one!

 

[Saul]

Ruby will be back for the next series? You mean like how Martha came back?


Some of the Sutekh memes are hilarious. At least something good came out of all this.

 

[Mr Awe]

Jack hit on him of course.

And then showed him something inappropriately.

 

[DigificWriter]

Ruby will be back for the next series? You mean like how Martha came back?


Some of the Sutekh memes are hilarious. At least something good came out of all this.

Freema Agyeman had explicitly departed the show as a Series Regular when she appeared in Series 4; RTD has explicitly stated that, despite reports to the contrary, Millie Gibson remains a Series Regular for Series 15.

 

[JoeZhang]

So this is why I've suddenly lost all interest in who Mrs Flood is. Given the whole reveal debacle (ok, I know some like, but it fell flat for me), but it's seems apparent that the mystery build up is all to do about getting people chattering and not really about good storytelling. Even if you like the idea that Ruby's birth mom is a normal person, the build up throughout the season wasn't leading to that.

So, I'm not going to bother speculating or caring about who Mrs. Flood is. And there's been plenty of hints, mostly false I'm sure, about who she is.

Confusion just to get people talking isn't my thing. I can still enjoy other aspects of the show but not that one!

That's pretty much my problem - I feel it broke the contract with the viewer and the in-universe "you just placed too much significance on it" was just dismal.

So I look forward to the new series but any clues about Mrs Flood I'll just ignore as more "gotta!" nonsense.

 

[kirk55555]

I've always been a defender of Mel (and not just because we share the same name). Mel as a character is wonderfully utilized in her introductory story, Terror of the Vervoids, but after that, the writers didn't ever seem know how to use her beyond a scream queen (which is a damn shame). Big Finish greatly redeemed the character (much like The Sixth Doctor and Adric) and finally provided the material Bonnie has long deserved. I'm thrilled the show has done the same at last, too.

Honestly while I've liked seeing Mel in her NuWho appearances I still can't stand her 80s stuff. Its not the actress's fault, but Mel was written as an annoying scream machine, and I'll never forgive her for being (in universe) the reason that the 6th Doctor's last words were "carrot juice".

Also, Big Finish didn't "redeem" the 6th Doctor, because there was nothing to redeem, he was always great and his best stories are all from his TV episodes (not that there aren't a few bad ones, but its more good then bad). I will give Mel this: she's the 6th Doctor's second best companion, after Peri. Although I think Frobisher might take second if I was more familiar with him, just based off premise alone.

 

[JoeZhang]

 

[jaime]

That's pretty much my problem - I feel it broke the contract with the viewer and the in-universe "you just placed too much significance on it" was just dismal.

So I look forward to the new series but any clues about Mrs Flood I'll just ignore as more "gotta!" nonsense.

It’s the same shit he pulled in Dot&Bubble. Obfuscated things, thought he was clever by making out people couldn’t see the forest for the trees when all he was showing was smoke.

 

[Starkers]

The quote I cited talks about Millie being a critical part of Series 15 as a whole and cites its finale specifically. Given that the rumors/claims were that, despite having been confirmed to be seen filming for Series 15, Millie would still be departing the show (meaning that she would leave at some point during Series 15), the quote I cited serves as an explicit rebuttal to those claims.

You said Millie was returning for all of S15, I asked for your evidence and you haven't provided any. I already knew she was returning, and in a significant role, I wasn't disputing that she'd be back, I was specifically disputing the assertion that she'd be back for the entire season.Dance around it anyway you like, I asked you for proof of that and you can't provide it.

 

[The Wormhole]

Looking over the thread we have for S2 spoilers, we only have confirmation Ruby is in the fourth episode (which is Doctor Lite) and the two part finale. Meanwhile, we know she definitely is not in the second episode. If I were to guess, Ruby will be more of a recurring role next year, and she won't be travelling with the Doctor, only showing up in episodes set in modern day.

 

[26138]

Looking over the thread we have for S2 spoilers, we only have confirmation Ruby is in the fourth episode (which is Doctor Lite) and the two part finale. Meanwhile, we know she definitely is not in the second episode. If I were to guess, Ruby will be more of a recurring role next year, and she won't be travelling with the Doctor, only showing up in episodes set in modern day. [emphasis mine]

So every episode because of budget cuts then? They're gonna have to exile him to "modern day" Earth again if the budget goes down any further.

 

[kirk55555]

So every episode because of budget cuts then? They're gonna have to exile him to "modern day" Earth again if the budget goes down any further.

Now come on, lets be fair. They'll probably be able to afford one extremely fake green screened planet a year, like the one from Boom.

Seriously though, the sets and location filming in Pyramids of Mars (which I'm using for comparison because I watched it recently) are so much better then 90% of the locations from Series 14 its ridiculous. Besides the standing UNIT set and the finale I think that Rogue was the only Series 14 episode that managed to have a nice looking setting that wasn't just generic modern day UK. Maybe The Devil's Chord as well if I'm being generous, but that episode was held up by its costuming and props more then its physical setting.

 

[Captrek]

get over yourself. Stop watching and commenting if you have such an absolute hatred for the show

As long as he’s civil, let him criticize.

I’m disturbed by what’s going on in Star Wars fandom these days. The negative critics by and large express not mere disappointment in the content, but utter rage at its creators and the fans who enjoy it. Negative criticism like jaime’s is a breath of fresh air.

 

[Snaploud]

I assume we'll find out next season that Ruby is really a Palpatine.

 

[Guy Gardener]

I assume we'll find out next season that Ruby is really a Palpatine.

Or a Chesterton.

Golly.

Babs left the TARDIS preggers, and we are only just finding out about it.

The TARDIS makes rooms for future companions, because it's consciousness is not completely moored to the present, so it knows when two companions are thinking about dating, and when they are Facebook official.

Which is when the TARDIS takes their separate bedrooms and mushes them together into a double stateroom.

TARDIS Official.

 

[Mr Awe]

That's pretty much my problem - I feel it broke the contract with the viewer and the in-universe "you just placed too much significance on it" was just dismal.

So I look forward to the new series but any clues about Mrs Flood I'll just ignore as more "gotta!" nonsense.

I think that's a great way to put it, breaking a contract with the viewer.

 

[JD]

I had assumed. I didn’t watch the Xmas one, and still won’t.
It still bugs me a little, because I kept feeling like the house was being portrayed as the one she grew up in, so am glad there was an explanation.
They must be loaded, or have serious contacts — or that’s Cherry’s house and no wonder she’s grumpy being poked up into the attic.

Why won't you watch it? You're missing out on a pretty significant part of Ruby & The Doctor's story by not watching it.

Which was explicitly how Clara was done at least.

This would have been a fair but less silly (and it is, and the various photo edits are fun but proving that…) if it had been presented as a more recent event. I mean, it’s borderline Voldemort stuff anyway, so why not just have him drift for centuries in the vortex, trailing in the doctors wake — powerless to do anything except pop his little avatars in because he needed to trap the Doctor into acknowledging him before he could return. (Which would explain what the whole trap thing was about anyway, because as it stands it’s kind of… why?) Of course, it would then need a better ending than taking the dog for a walk with prejudice. So that’s another improvement.
So far we have had a Demi-god defeated by playing catch with a ball (doing PE when you forget your kit no less) and now one done in by taking it walkies. Join us next season, when The Doctor will smack one in the nose with a rolled up newspaper, and another by using a Dalek ship as a large frisbee. Awkwardness ensues when he tries mixing Fenric’s medicine into his dinner though.

Not saying that isn’t true, but would you believe much he says these days?

She isn't.

Despite the ending of this episode making it seem otherwise, Millie will be returning for all of Series 15 (this has been explicitly confirmed by RTD) alongside Ncuti and Varada Sethu.

Now come on, lets be fair. They'll probably be able to afford one extremely fake green screened planet a year, like the one from Boom.

Technically it would be a extremely fake Volume planet, not green screen.

I'm confused by people acting like Russel T. Davies did something wrong with the reveal of who Ruby's mother is. Sure she wasn't what people expected her to be, but nobody on the show specifically she wasn't just a regular human, everybody just assumed she wasn't because they made such a mystery out of her. I like that she wasn't what we expected and I thought they way that Davies played with the significance of her identity in the finale was pretty good.

 

[Guy Gardener]

What the hell is this? (32 minutes.)

Not the best snapshot, but look at his thumb.

I mean, it's Earth. The Silence are always there, but if they feel threatened, they may have been active participants in this story, which is either a storyline that was dropped, or a big reveal next year when they tell us what really the hell happened.

 

[Captrek]

What the hell is this? (32 minutes.)

Not the best snapshot, but look at his thumb.

I mean, it's Earth. The Silence are always there, but if they feel threatened, they may have been active participants in this story, which is either a storyline that was dropped, or a big reveal next year when they tell us what really the hell happened.

The Silence are still around? I thought that after they used the moon landing broadcast to command everyone to kill them, they all died or skedadled.