God the music is so damn loud on this show. Half way through it and I already feel lost. 
9X01 "The Magician's Apprentice" Grading/Discussion)
- Thread starter Samurai8472
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God the music is so damn loud on this show. Half way through it and I already feel lost.
Yeah, it made the dialogue difficult at times.
Moffat couldn't resist a stupid line like Missy saying "I've known the Doctor since he was a little girl." Hopefully that was the lie.
God the music is so damn loud on this show. Half way through it and I already feel lost.
Yeah, it made the dialogue difficult at times.
Moffat couldn't resist a stupid line like Missy saying "I've known the Doctor since he was a little girl." Hopefully that was the lie.
That entire scene between Clara and Missy I'm assuming was important and the freaking dialog was overshadowed by the score. No matter what this episode brings in the second half, it's already not an excellent.
This felt like more that a 2 parter.
I would be so happy if they finally made a coherent 13 part story.
I would be so happy if they finally made a coherent 13 part story.
I have not seen the episode yet. I am waiting for my family to retire for the night. The last series turned them off to this new Doctor.
The thing about slaves - I always assumed that the Daleks had to have a slave population. Someone had to build the structures that they move in, someone had to maintain the Daleks (feed them, repair their "tanks"), someone had to build their ships, etc. The Daleks are a strange villain - if they were made more realistic, they would be truly terrifying. However, that would darken Doctor Who, would put the show on a path that the franchise overseers have deliberately attempted to avoid. So, the Daleks are in, in my opinion, in a limbo between farcical and scary.
The thing about slaves - I always assumed that the Daleks had to have a slave population. Someone had to build the structures that they move in, someone had to maintain the Daleks (feed them, repair their "tanks"), someone had to build their ships, etc. The Daleks are a strange villain - if they were made more realistic, they would be truly terrifying. However, that would darken Doctor Who, would put the show on a path that the franchise overseers have deliberately attempted to avoid. So, the Daleks are in, in my opinion, in a limbo between farcical and scary.
It was a pretty good episode, but I'm starting to have a hard time with this show and maybe a lot of it is my fault. For one, the music is way too loud and I feel like scenes that seem important are being overshadowed by the music. Second, this episode needed a previously on Doctor Who tag or something. It felt all over the place, starting with the Doctor and the child Devros, than the whole Clara on earth part which in the grand scheme of things could have been cut from the episode (Since when was Clara working for Unit?) or at least streamlined to maybe not involve unit but make it a little more personal, and then the gist of the story didn't start until the second half hour. I liked the scenes between the Doctor and Devros but since I haven't seen the classic series, a lot of it felt like it went over my head. So Devros is taking revenge on the Doctor abandoning him and that's why he created the Daleks and the whole time war and now killed Missy and Clara (In this episode anyway) just in spite? I'm not sure if it's that simple, but then the music was so dang loud that it was hard to make out what exactly was going on.
I'd probably give it a B overall. Not the best season premiere (Being dropped right in the middle of everything being my big issue with it) but at least the show is back and this looks like a good Dalek story. Still, one of the things I like about Davies was he went out of his way to make things simple for casual fans while still pleasing the older fans. I don't feel like Moffett does it similarly.
I'd probably give it a B overall. Not the best season premiere (Being dropped right in the middle of everything being my big issue with it) but at least the show is back and this looks like a good Dalek story. Still, one of the things I like about Davies was he went out of his way to make things simple for casual fans while still pleasing the older fans. I don't feel like Moffett does it similarly.
Never understood the comment about the score drowning out the dialogue. Of course the audio might be different for me since I generally watch the episodes on my pc rather than broadcast televison.
I thought that the score overwhelmed the dialog in spots.
What don't you understand about it. The Music is too loud, thus taking me out of the story, thus affecting my enjoyment of the episode. Maybe it's the way BBC America has their audio, but this has been an issue ever since I started watching back in 2005 and for this being Season 9, it's going to affect how I enjoy this season. In fact, the first thing I ask when I wonder if I liked the episode was "Was the music too loud". If yes, it's not excellent. If no, than it could be excellent.
That is the only complaint I have with this episode. Like you it's a complaint that I have had since the first episode of New Who back in '05. The sound mix is way too heavy on the music and it drowns out the dialogue at times. Some episodes are better than others, but on this episode it was really bad. I'm going to have to watch it again with subtitles just to get all of the dialogue. Other than that though, I absolutely loved it from beginning to end.
My point is that I've been watching from the beginning and have never had the music drown out the audio. Sure I might miss a word on occasion due to an unfamiliar accent, or someone speaking fast, but thats it.
So it makes me wonder if the mix sounds different through tv speaker than it does computer speakers or headphones.
I do not know how I feel after watching the show.
Deaths on this franchise have become meaningless. Kill someone, he or she reappears without explanation. It was passable when the Master died, for he was a Time Lord/Lady, and he/she could exist in a realm unknowable to most other species in the universe. Now, even the most lowly members of lesser species can die without their being a cost. Death itself has become pointless. Missy kills to prove that she is not good. I know that she is not good for she is the Master. How does destroying the lives of two unnamed UNIT guards prove anything? The destruction of the TARDIS has, as well, become meaningless. Even the people who assemble the trailers have decided that deaths are not important, for they includes scenes of Clara from later episodes.
I feel the two short films that were premiered before the show aired were cut scenes from the episode. These scenes were given importance for someone arbitrary declared that they were prologue to this episode. This makes no sense, for prologues show events that occurred before the episodes. Both of the films were connected to events, which occurred after the episode began, in the episode itself. I have seen prologues to episodes in earlier seasons that worked as prologues.
I mentioned earlier that my family had no interest in watching the show again. After tonight's episode, I can not find a reason for introducing them back to the show. The episode has more net negatives than net positives. I am hoping that there will come an episode that I can say, "This is Doctor Who at its finest. This is why you should like Doctor Who."
Deaths on this franchise have become meaningless. Kill someone, he or she reappears without explanation. It was passable when the Master died, for he was a Time Lord/Lady, and he/she could exist in a realm unknowable to most other species in the universe. Now, even the most lowly members of lesser species can die without their being a cost. Death itself has become pointless. Missy kills to prove that she is not good. I know that she is not good for she is the Master. How does destroying the lives of two unnamed UNIT guards prove anything? The destruction of the TARDIS has, as well, become meaningless. Even the people who assemble the trailers have decided that deaths are not important, for they includes scenes of Clara from later episodes.
I feel the two short films that were premiered before the show aired were cut scenes from the episode. These scenes were given importance for someone arbitrary declared that they were prologue to this episode. This makes no sense, for prologues show events that occurred before the episodes. Both of the films were connected to events, which occurred after the episode began, in the episode itself. I have seen prologues to episodes in earlier seasons that worked as prologues.
I mentioned earlier that my family had no interest in watching the show again. After tonight's episode, I can not find a reason for introducing them back to the show. The episode has more net negatives than net positives. I am hoping that there will come an episode that I can say, "This is Doctor Who at its finest. This is why you should like Doctor Who."
The Master has died so many times he lists the afterlife as a second address. I'd love to have a moment where Missy apparently dies and the Doctor just waves it off and says she'll be back.
I loved the episode, best thing Moffat has written in a while. I had no clue it was Davros going into the episode, although I guessed that's who the kid was when I noticed the mixmatched technology in the war scene.
I loved the episode, best thing Moffat has written in a while. I had no clue it was Davros going into the episode, although I guessed that's who the kid was when I noticed the mixmatched technology in the war scene.
You make it sound as if NuWho has never been any good, ever. Or at least, not true to its past.
Loved it, laughed so much here. Clara was great, her scene with Missy on the terras.... That shows she really doesn't need anyone as back up. She is the back up. Challenging Missy like that, awesome!
I loved the extravegant way the Doctor behaved in the 12th century. That's the weirdo I know and love, the Doctor, going way back to 9, has always been extreme in not dealing with difficult choices, and acting and lashing out in extreme ways. This is no different than some of the other stupid stuff he has done.
I loved the extravegant way the Doctor behaved in the 12th century. That's the weirdo I know and love, the Doctor, going way back to 9, has always been extreme in not dealing with difficult choices, and acting and lashing out in extreme ways. This is no different than some of the other stupid stuff he has done.
My family was with the franchise until Series 8. The fourth and tenth Doctors were favorites. There were moments in the last series where suspension of disbelief had been stretched beyond the breaking point. I have read reviews by other long term fans of the franchise who were likewise turned off by the last series. So, it was not exclusive to my household.
When I was watching the episode, when I was listening to Missy's conversation with Clara, when I was looking back in hindsight, I have the feeling that the showrunner is developing a mythos where the Time Lords are these god-like beings who lord over and control time and space. They exist in realms far beyond our understanding. I never had this feeling, or rather this impression, when I watched the classic Doctor Who. Then, the impression I received was that the Time Lords were a technologically advanced civilization that was different from Humans because of cultural differences. They did not feel like gods and goddesses walking among the mortals of the universe.
Aside from the last series, it seems that NuWho has an obsession with the Doctor facing his own mortality, either in his current reincarnation or in his entire existence. At this point, I do not care anymore. After dealing with another existential threat, the Doctor will move on. I have moved on from annoyance to whatever. Get it done with quickly. Thank you.
And, who is in charge of UNIT? In the courtyard, it was not clear to me who was in charge of the snipers. Hell, it was not clear to me who placed the snipers at the courtyard. When the snipers were at the courtyard, UNIT did not know who was controlling the planes. So, how could UNIT send snipers to a threat they did not know yet existed? Then, in the courtyard, it was alleged that the Brigadier's daughter could order the snipers to fire. Then again, Clara said she had control of the snipers. She could order them to fire. So, who was in charge?
And, who is charge of the Earth? It seemed the Doctor was still the President of Earth, or did I miss something in the exchange about between Clara and BD about the President?
For the Doctor to be as cavalier about messing with time, as he was with introducing the tank to the medieval ages, is truly him being out of character. This is a person who pointed out and spoke out against introducing technology (anarchronisms) to an earlier period in Earth's history.
On a last note, the rating system is a bit vague to me. I can understand the top and bottom rating. However, rating an episode as lasagna or souffle is far less clear. It is even more so when a person who has never eaten one or the other or both is asked to make a decision on a rating based on their perception of how something is when they have never been exposed to that something.
When I was watching the episode, when I was listening to Missy's conversation with Clara, when I was looking back in hindsight, I have the feeling that the showrunner is developing a mythos where the Time Lords are these god-like beings who lord over and control time and space. They exist in realms far beyond our understanding. I never had this feeling, or rather this impression, when I watched the classic Doctor Who. Then, the impression I received was that the Time Lords were a technologically advanced civilization that was different from Humans because of cultural differences. They did not feel like gods and goddesses walking among the mortals of the universe.
Aside from the last series, it seems that NuWho has an obsession with the Doctor facing his own mortality, either in his current reincarnation or in his entire existence. At this point, I do not care anymore. After dealing with another existential threat, the Doctor will move on. I have moved on from annoyance to whatever. Get it done with quickly. Thank you.
And, who is in charge of UNIT? In the courtyard, it was not clear to me who was in charge of the snipers. Hell, it was not clear to me who placed the snipers at the courtyard. When the snipers were at the courtyard, UNIT did not know who was controlling the planes. So, how could UNIT send snipers to a threat they did not know yet existed? Then, in the courtyard, it was alleged that the Brigadier's daughter could order the snipers to fire. Then again, Clara said she had control of the snipers. She could order them to fire. So, who was in charge?
And, who is charge of the Earth? It seemed the Doctor was still the President of Earth, or did I miss something in the exchange about between Clara and BD about the President?
For the Doctor to be as cavalier about messing with time, as he was with introducing the tank to the medieval ages, is truly him being out of character. This is a person who pointed out and spoke out against introducing technology (anarchronisms) to an earlier period in Earth's history.
On a last note, the rating system is a bit vague to me. I can understand the top and bottom rating. However, rating an episode as lasagna or souffle is far less clear. It is even more so when a person who has never eaten one or the other or both is asked to make a decision on a rating based on their perception of how something is when they have never been exposed to that something.
Hold on , you and your family gave up on series 8? I realize the eighth series wasn't that great, but... it still wasn't a terrible, unwatchable show, in the least.
Hell, if you give up on season 15, or any of the Colin Baker/Sylvester McCoy seasons, I don't see why you should now.
Also, for my money, the Time Lords are largely portrayed as cosmic douches, in NuWho, and in OldWho alike. Hell, BF took that one step further with their Gallifrey spin-off series.
Hell, if you give up on season 15, or any of the Colin Baker/Sylvester McCoy seasons, I don't see why you should now.
Also, for my money, the Time Lords are largely portrayed as cosmic douches, in NuWho, and in OldWho alike. Hell, BF took that one step further with their Gallifrey spin-off series.
I'm in two minds on this one...
Was that a biplane?
I swear it was a biplane flying over where the boy Davros was... How the hell do you get biplanes on Skaro?
Did the Doctor leave a 20th Century tank in 12th Century Earth?
Some of it irritated me but on the whole it wasn't a bad episode. I could live with it..
Davros even had a clip of "Genesis Of The Daleks" on hand. Ahh that was brilliant and loved that. So this episode ties into a whole bunch of things...
Missy was kind of the part that irritated me. They made her unnecessarily cruel in this episode, moreso then her previous outing which I liked..
If I had to give the episode a rating 6/10
Was that a biplane?
I swear it was a biplane flying over where the boy Davros was... How the hell do you get biplanes on Skaro?
Did the Doctor leave a 20th Century tank in 12th Century Earth?
Some of it irritated me but on the whole it wasn't a bad episode. I could live with it..
Davros even had a clip of "Genesis Of The Daleks" on hand. Ahh that was brilliant and loved that. So this episode ties into a whole bunch of things...
Missy was kind of the part that irritated me. They made her unnecessarily cruel in this episode, moreso then her previous outing which I liked..
If I had to give the episode a rating 6/10
No, Season 8 was. And I'ma big fan. Capaldi was really good, mostly the writing and Clara being irritating.
A Skaro biplane. The War has so exhausted resources and manufacturing that they are reduced to biplanes and (what iou didn't mention) bows.
My actual reaction:
"Oh yeah, war again, people running, weapons are random, some kid, someone tries to save him, creepy hands, they're good, oh, the Doctor trying to rescue the kid, they talk, blah blah bl-- HOLY SHIT!!"
This ep was streets ahead of last season. Clara didn't even annoy me. Missy was much better.
And you will never, never be as cool as the Doctor, wearing sunglasses, riding a tank and playing rock guitar!
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