6x05 The Rebel Flesh (Grading/Discussion) (SPOILERS!!)

[VDCNI]

I don't think its been reported here yet...

5.7 million viewers watched episode five according to unofficial overnight figures.

The story, written by Matthew Graham, attracted 29.3% of the overnight audience and was the second most-watched programme of the day. The most-watched programme was Britain's Got Talent with 10 million watching.

Doctor Who had a million more viewers than the third placed programme Casualty. Against the Doctor, Sing If You Can on ITV had 4.1 million watching. 0.84 million watched Doctor Who on BBC One HD.

The BBC One audience once more peaked when Doctor Who was on, rising to 5.9 million during the programme and dropping to 2.8 million as Doctor Who finished

Probably final figures should be somewhere around 7.5 million then.

The Doctors Wife had a final official rating of 7.97 million viewers, a 34.7% share of the audience.

Ratings won't drop below 7 this season with live+7 coming into play.

The final ratings reported here have been calculated in the same way as in previous years.

Live+7 is an internal BBC thing as far as I am aware and they are different to the final ratings issued by BARB.

 

[Jaster]

If this ends up being the explanation for the shooting, then I'll be annoyed because Canton specifically said "that is the Doctor, and he is dead". There needs to be a very specific way to get around that event without ripping off the audience. I'll be annoyed if it's resolved by going back on what Canton said.

I thought the numerous statements about the flesh being identical to the real thing, particularly the Doctors comments and insistence on treating the gangers as equal people, was laying the groundwork to get around Canton's comment.

I hope not, but that's what I thought. If this is the "solution" to TIA, let's hope there's a twist we are missing.

 

[starsuperion]

Fanwank

Hate that term. Surely stories appealing to the fans is a good thing? Pretty pointless to write stories the core audience don't like, one would have thought.

Why exactly do you consider last week's episode "fanwank"? I and the Missus enjoyed them immensely, not knowing all the previous speculation in fandom about transgender regens and conscious TARDISes (TARDISii?).

Just because fans have written about such things doesn't make them "fanwank". Nor neccessarily would an enemy origin story for the Autons or whoever (can't see it for this episode). Unless you personally don't like them, in which case it's an extremely derogative way of expressing that.

Not having a go, just would appreciate you being more constructive in your critical observations, I've seen your previous posts, I know you are capable of more than the term "fanwank".

Well, fanwank about sums it up, doesn't it? It's part of what I consider the problem with new Who, which is that the stories are much more internalised - the fetishisation of the Doctor and now even the Tardis. Instead of the Doctor showing up on a planet, finding out what's going on, and sorting it out, it's more and more about the Doctor himself, his companions, and even about the bloody Tardis. It's personified in the amount of times he's just gone "I'm the Doctor and I'm fookin' 'ard, now piss off". It all started with the Daleks supposedly calling him the Oncoming Storm (and can you really imagine a Dalek saying that?), and by this point we could name at least half a dozen episodes where he's done it again. With the regeneration plot devices, the idea River Sue's some future part of the Doctor's life, and companions falling in love with him, the show's stories become more and more about the Doctor's myth, and not about space, time, and righting wrongs.

this..

although.. the title of the show IS "Doctor Who".. and not "Adventures of a Time Lord in space."

 

[Timofnine]

Hmmmm, well, this is the first episode this series that hasn't held my full attention.. neither my full attention nor my 6 year old nephews who I'm in the routine of watching it with each week. It was dull... it wasn't exciting or gripping... I loved the production values and the direction - technically it was great - it just felt shallow and didn't offer enough to 'Joe (or Jane!) average'. One thing that I like about modern Who is how it crosses the boundries between mainstream and cult - this episode just felt pure cult to me, and I can see it being off putting to a lot of casual viewers. It's almost like the new series of Doctor Who was conceived and aimed at being mainstream... but when the audience feel comfortable with it, they're going to twist it back in to genre sci-fi and hope everyone still want's to watch it. It doesn't work like that though.

This was only part one though, so let's see where part two takes us... it's a bit hard to judge one half of a story

 

[Butters]

I have no idea what is missing from the series, but there is certainly something missing, and its causing much consternation that I can't even figure it out. On the whole, I like the new series, but still, theres something missing. Half the time I'm not even sure I'm following the plot.

 

[Ginandtonic]

Again this one was fairly meh, not sure about the new Doctor Who of late, am willing myself to find something likeable about the new show, but I'm struggling, there is somethign missing I agree, it's hard to put a finger on it, the last series was good even if it felt like alot of it was revolving round Amy and oh boy another story arc surrounds the companion, but aside from that, was fun, this series, the timey whimey, mind messing is messing a little bit too far, I don't mind timey whimey, it can be fun like the 5th/10th crossover on CIN, but too much of it and my brain will just want to trickle out of my left nostril.

 

[Mr Light]

I'm afraid I found this episode to be extremely slow and boring and uninteresting. I am truly shocked they decided to make this into a two parter. It felt like nothing happened the entire episode and now we have to go through a whole 'nuther episode about this?! About five little clone people?!

Reminds me of the Silurian two parter last year. Just no reason for it to be a two parter. Particularly after we just had an excellent jam packed fast paced episode full of important information that was just rushed through.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Oh, and for those who think it's not a great episode unless we actually learn something, what exactly did we learn this episode? The Doctor wears a size 10 wide shoe. Hoo boy, can I stand the excitement.

They made a relatively big fuss about the shoes in this episode. My theory is that in the next episode, they will use the shoes to distinguish the real Doctor from his ganger (I'm assuming the ganger "scanned" the Doctor at the beginning of the episode, hence the ganger Doctor will have (an exact copy of) the Doctor's original shoes, while the real Doctor wears the borrowed shoes).

Yeah, that's the tell. Another guy has a cold and has been sneezing. Not sure about the rest.

 

[Shatnertage]

Here's something that really bothered me when I watched that I don't believe I didn't mention before.

Did the Doctor say, "disorientated?" Twice?

That's not a real word, is it? It's disoriented, right? Or is this a British thing?

 

[David cgc]

I'm fairly sure it's a British thing.

 

[Skellington]

They're apparently synonymous, but I can't imagine saying "Let's orient ourselves!".

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I do. After they were oriented, they were able to head in the right direction.

 

[propita]

They're apparently synonymous, but I can't imagine saying "Let's orient ourselves!".

I’ve heard, “Let me get myself oriented,” meaning “let me figure out which way is up/North/West/etc.

 

[Skywalker]

I'm fairly sure it's a British thing.

Adding unnecessary syllables to words is their speciality.

 

[Sindatur]

I don't believe Orientate is legitimate according to Websters or Oxford, nor through Historical usage, however, it's so often used, I wouldn't be surprised, if the Urban Dictionary has made it legitimate, in which case, Webster's and/or Oxford could be close behind

 

[Shatnertage]

To me, "disorientated" just sounds wrong--you wouldn't say someone got "orientated" at their orientation.

And it reminds me of a supervisor who told me about having to appear at a license revocation hearing where a wrong-doer would get her license "revocated."

 

[davejames]

I'm afraid I found this episode to be extremely slow and boring and uninteresting. I am truly shocked they decided to make this into a two parter. It felt like nothing happened the entire episode and now we have to go through a whole 'nuther episode about this?! About five little clone people?!

Agreed. There's a pretty decent concept here that might have worked really well in a tight, concise 45 minute episode (as apparently Graham originally wanted), but there just doesn't seem to be enough here to justify TWO episodes.

Especially compared to all the previous stories which really DID deserve some breathing room (like Victory or Doctor's Wife).

 

[PorthosShadow]

My only real complaint about this episode is that I had a hard time hearing some of the dialogue.

 

[Australis]

Here's something that really bothered me when I watched that I don't believe I didn't mention before.

Did the Doctor say, "disorientated?" Twice?

That's not a real word, is it? It's disoriented, right? Or is this a British thing?

This one is my grammar nazi thing.

Knowing which way you're facing is one thing.

Not knowing where/what who you are is another.

Orientation.
Disoriented.

Grrrrrr.

 

[Mr Light]

I'm from America and I hear disoriented all the time...