There's a thread about that.
8x08 Mummy on the Orient Express (Grading/Discussion) SPOILERS!
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Most arcs get resolved by the end of the season. Maybe that's not how they want to end this season.
You mean when he said this?
I don't think it was ever stated that it would be a major story arc this season.
I'm sure that was a rhetorical question.
The end of the movie left me with the impression that Season 8 would be about finding Gallifrey. But he pretty much did find it in the very next episode, and resolved that they can never come back. They send him some help and sealed the crack, so that storyline seemed to be (prematurely) resolved then.
"Finding Gallifrey" is not a storyarc, it's now the Doctor's statu quo, replacing "Last of the Time Lords". There's no reason to address it right now, but it's there to be dealt with eventually.
To the fictional person it seemed like the most important thing ever when he noticed.
To the producers, they assumed they could get four or five more years out of this, so there's no need to rush.
There's a minisode of Amy leaving a voice mail for the Doctor begging him to find baby Melody faster, and he's in the dark, looking frustrated and impotent because the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
Selfie is terrible.
Nebula is poorly explained and meh, in hte midst of a superb movie.
To the producers, they assumed they could get four or five more years out of this, so there's no need to rush.
There's a minisode of Amy leaving a voice mail for the Doctor begging him to find baby Melody faster, and he's in the dark, looking frustrated and impotent because the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
Selfie is terrible.
Nebula is poorly explained and meh, in hte midst of a superb movie.
A friend of mine decided this weekend she's done with the show. A couple more are still watching, but are disliking Capaldi. Granted all of them have watched the show only since the Matt Smith era, but even I am experiencing a "wobble" (as Clara put it this week).
I always knew that the "Matt Smith Fangirls(tm)" would leave since they hated the casting of an older Doctor, but I was really excited about Capaldi coming in and even I've mostly been turned off. He's great when he's funny, and I loved the moment in this week's episode when he confronted the mummy himself. That made me think of the 9th Doctor. But other than that, he's a pretty sour character and that's not how it should be. I can only hope that this is part of a story arc and he'll snap out of it, because this sort of Doctor isn't a Doctor that I'm interested in watching for 36-40 episodes.
And I keep going back to the Clara thing...the drama is there between them only because the writers forced it. They retconned Clara's character to make her like this. They wrote the Doctor as someone without compassion to force conflict between them. You can make 12 a different Doctor without making unlikeable. You can change the relationship that THIS Doctor has with Clara without making it "dramaville." Change it from a Doctor Clara can easily tease and wrap around her finger (11) to someone she struggles to keep up with and teaches her things and still has fun. Not a Doctor she's struggling to trust.
They had a magical relationship. It used to make me smile and now it makes me sigh.
I'm willing (almost) to bet money Moffat's imitating the character arc of the first doctor, taking an unlikeable, crotchety character and turning him into someone more warm and friendly. I fully expect 12's regen episode to include the Doctor finally hugging someone.
Yes, that is how fiction works.
Hah.
Anyway, I'm very much liking the Twelve/Clara dynamic and all their little fights. After all, drama and conflict make relationships interesting. Last series, I really wanted to like Clara, I really did, but her relationship with Eleven was ill-defined other than her crush. No real emotional weight there whatsoever. That leads to the greatest sin in TV -- she was boring. And as much as I loved Day of the Doctor, she did things that really any companion could have done. It seems this time around however, her role and her motivations are much meatier and better defined, and so I've more reason to stick with her than before.
I don't think Twelve is actually heartless or without compassion. On the contrary. Right in his first episode we have him openly express regret at the prospect of having to kill the villain. And he also says about humans that they're never small to him. He also cares rather deeply about Clara.
The difference between this Doctor and his two predecessors is that he doesn't see the point in expressing his compassion or his feelings in general the way they did. He didn't want any of the people in the episode to die but as he knew he couldn't prevent their deaths at that time he didn't think there was any benefit in also expressing how he felt about that. He even said that people with guns to their heads don't grieve. He just saw the situation more clearly than the others, I suppose. Eleven also went through a phase where he couldn't be bothered to interact with others in a compassionate way - until (Victorian) Clara came along.
Unlike his predecessors he's also rather unsure about himself. He kind of doubts that he is a good man. But he's quite aware of that as the scene on the beach showed. To me that's a very intriguing aspect of his character.
So far, he hasn't really done anything that Eleven didn't do. Let's not forget that Eleven wasn't quite honest with Clara regarding his interest about her. He also abandoned her (temporarily). The difference is that she trusted him whereas she doesn't fully trust his new incarnation. By extension we, the audience, are now also unsure about him. It seems like a bit of a mindgame Moffat's playing here. I kind of like it.
ETA: by the way, I'm currently also watching the Sixth Doctor's run for the first time and it's really slow-going. I find it difficult to motivate myself to watch the next episode for a variety of reasons (mainly the way Colin Baker plays the Doctor, the lacklustre writing and the companion not being very compelling, either). For me, there's no comparison between that era and the one we're in now.
The difference between this Doctor and his two predecessors is that he doesn't see the point in expressing his compassion or his feelings in general the way they did. He didn't want any of the people in the episode to die but as he knew he couldn't prevent their deaths at that time he didn't think there was any benefit in also expressing how he felt about that. He even said that people with guns to their heads don't grieve. He just saw the situation more clearly than the others, I suppose. Eleven also went through a phase where he couldn't be bothered to interact with others in a compassionate way - until (Victorian) Clara came along.
Unlike his predecessors he's also rather unsure about himself. He kind of doubts that he is a good man. But he's quite aware of that as the scene on the beach showed. To me that's a very intriguing aspect of his character.
So far, he hasn't really done anything that Eleven didn't do. Let's not forget that Eleven wasn't quite honest with Clara regarding his interest about her. He also abandoned her (temporarily). The difference is that she trusted him whereas she doesn't fully trust his new incarnation. By extension we, the audience, are now also unsure about him. It seems like a bit of a mindgame Moffat's playing here. I kind of like it.
ETA: by the way, I'm currently also watching the Sixth Doctor's run for the first time and it's really slow-going. I find it difficult to motivate myself to watch the next episode for a variety of reasons (mainly the way Colin Baker plays the Doctor, the lacklustre writing and the companion not being very compelling, either). For me, there's no comparison between that era and the one we're in now.
I have enjoyed every episode this season, but for some reason I've found this Season to be slightly weak. Maybe it's because the arc is pretty poorly defined. Here we are four episodes to the finale and the only things we have of the arc are the few times we've seen "Missy." That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn't feel like this Season is about anything. Since Davies, each Season has worked towards something, but I just can't feel it here.
That being said, I LOVED this episode. I think this was my favorite episode this season and you really see The Doctor becoming the character that you know he'll end up floating towards. And I really liked the ending that had a "Next Stop: Everywhere" vibe that I really like from the show.
Actually that might be my main criticism of the Season. The adventure is non existent and that may stem from the fact that The Doctor is Clara's taxi service, but it just seems like there's no journey into the unknown. Listen was good for that, but they really didn't do anything exciting. Doctor Who should always be a show that does something new every outing. I want the writers to be accused of being too ambitious and too forward thinking.
That being said, I LOVED this episode. I think this was my favorite episode this season and you really see The Doctor becoming the character that you know he'll end up floating towards. And I really liked the ending that had a "Next Stop: Everywhere" vibe that I really like from the show.
Actually that might be my main criticism of the Season. The adventure is non existent and that may stem from the fact that The Doctor is Clara's taxi service, but it just seems like there's no journey into the unknown. Listen was good for that, but they really didn't do anything exciting. Doctor Who should always be a show that does something new every outing. I want the writers to be accused of being too ambitious and too forward thinking.
Neither Peri nor Mel were compelling companions. They were both really annoying. I can't think of a single story where Mel did anything outstandingly interesting, and Peri was a more interesting companion to the Fifth Doctor, even though she only had two stories with him.
Peri had other qualities which I'm not allowed to mention here.
I have watched what is left of William Hartnell's years. I never felt his character was unlikeable. I felt that he could be selfish, as in "The Daleks". This is a character who talked to Vicki after Barbara killed her pet and gave her comfort. He actually cared about his companions and there was camaraderie among the TARDIS party. The first season of the franchise established this character, and each season following has built on this foundation. I felt that the franchise works best when the show improves, yet doesn't change, that foundation. For some reason, both JNT and Moffat feel the need to change the foundation. From reading its history, that is when the franchise begins to derail.
A good arc is one where each episode adds pieces to the puzzle. I was looking at a ranking of the story arcs for the modern Doctor Who at WhatCulture. The author rated the "Impossible Girl" arc as the worst, for it,
The best arc, "The Cracks in Time", was, according to the author,
http://whatculture.com/tv/doctor-ranking-new-series-arcs-worst-best.php/8
I was watching the review for "Kill the Moon" on What the Flick! on YouTube. The reviewers felt that the Doctor was being made more into a jerk, and he did a 180 on his opinion of people. In an early episode, the Doctor said that every person was important; this latest Doctor said to Courtney Woods that she wasn't special.
I would have liked the Orient Express to have been placed on an Earth colony world, with retro-20s fashion and technology. This is where the original Doctor Who had an advantage - the people involved had a better understanding of what would work in space. I don't remember a flying steam ship, steam train, or Spitfires in space. (By the way, what was the OE expelling from its smoke stack?)
I think the strength of the better episodes of this year show that the franchise can work with an examination of the Doctor character, without the extraneous season arc which has been mentioned in less than half the aired episodes and hasn't been integral to the episodes themselves.
A good arc is one where each episode adds pieces to the puzzle. I was looking at a ranking of the story arcs for the modern Doctor Who at WhatCulture. The author rated the "Impossible Girl" arc as the worst, for it,
The best arc, "The Cracks in Time", was, according to the author,
http://whatculture.com/tv/doctor-ranking-new-series-arcs-worst-best.php/8
I was watching the review for "Kill the Moon" on What the Flick! on YouTube. The reviewers felt that the Doctor was being made more into a jerk, and he did a 180 on his opinion of people. In an early episode, the Doctor said that every person was important; this latest Doctor said to Courtney Woods that she wasn't special.
I would have liked the Orient Express to have been placed on an Earth colony world, with retro-20s fashion and technology. This is where the original Doctor Who had an advantage - the people involved had a better understanding of what would work in space. I don't remember a flying steam ship, steam train, or Spitfires in space. (By the way, what was the OE expelling from its smoke stack?)
I think the strength of the better episodes of this year show that the franchise can work with an examination of the Doctor character, without the extraneous season arc which has been mentioned in less than half the aired episodes and hasn't been integral to the episodes themselves.
I believe Nicola Bryant addressed why she thought Peri didn't work on the show. Peri was written to be a companion of the 5th Doctor; who was a big brother type to all his companions. Had Peri been saddled with Fivey, I think she would have made out better. With Six though, it's like she's there to be verbally abused by Six and his smugness.
Bad Wolf and the Cracks were the best arcs. I think the Finding Gallifrey arc will be something that might be used to end the series with. As a way of putting all the toys back in the box. 2005 onwards was really about 'The last of the Timelords' and it's an added factor which is part of the Doctor's Character now.
Capaldi I love and it's refreshing to see a Doctor Who is a little bit more reserved in his actions and speech. I like the darker undertone. Something different has to be done with the character and it's Capaldi's performance which has kept me sitting through some episodes this season which I didn't like so much.
Capaldi I love and it's refreshing to see a Doctor Who is a little bit more reserved in his actions and speech. I like the darker undertone. Something different has to be done with the character and it's Capaldi's performance which has kept me sitting through some episodes this season which I didn't like so much.
I think the arc this season has been exploring the Doctor, Clara and Danny. Missy is just a distraction. 
I get the "taxi service" business with 11 but I don't know that it's completely fair with 12.
Into the Dalek
C: No offense, but I've got plans.
D: I need you.
Listen
D: I need you...for a thing.
C: I can't.
...
D: C'mon c'mon c'mon
Time Heist
C: Gotta go gonna be late
C: (phone rings) There ya go, you got another playmate.
C: (phone rings) Don't.
Kill the Moon
C: (12 slams the TARDIS into gear while Clara isn't looking) Hey! Doctor!
Granted, we've seen in Robin of Sherwood, bits of Caretaker and Orient Express that Clara going off on adventures but we've seen the Doctor come force her hand multiple times. We've seen a few times where the Doctor seems to be enabling her when she might have otherwise started to move on.
I get the "taxi service" business with 11 but I don't know that it's completely fair with 12.
Into the Dalek
C: No offense, but I've got plans.
D: I need you.
Listen
D: I need you...for a thing.
C: I can't.
...
D: C'mon c'mon c'mon
Time Heist
C: Gotta go gonna be late
C: (phone rings) There ya go, you got another playmate.
C: (phone rings) Don't.
Kill the Moon
C: (12 slams the TARDIS into gear while Clara isn't looking) Hey! Doctor!
Granted, we've seen in Robin of Sherwood, bits of Caretaker and Orient Express that Clara going off on adventures but we've seen the Doctor come force her hand multiple times. We've seen a few times where the Doctor seems to be enabling her when she might have otherwise started to move on.
Actually, just tonight I was reminded of that awesome fan-made promo where the TARDIS lands on water and the Doctor invites Clara to walk out with him. THAT'S what I want the show to be like. The sense of wonder. The adventure seems secondary so far this year and that's too bad. Though this episode really did give me hope stuff will get back on track.
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