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Spoilers Demons of the Punjab grade and discussion thread

How do you rate Demons of the Punjab?


  • Total voters
    86
From Tom Spilsbury on Twitter
These numbers are off..
If season 11 episode 5 is at 7.49m viewers and that is the combined from the overnight figure base of 6.12m viewers, then how can episode 6 be on track for 7.5m if the base overnight figures for episode 6 are 5.77m? I see a definite trend in decline.. so enjoy this experiment while it lasts.. but overnight figures and combined totals have been on a steady red arrow down since it's debut. Don't yell at me.. it's in the numbers.. here is an accurate representation, not taken from Twitter...
http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/doctor-who-series-11-2018-uk-ratings-accumulator-88397.htm
2018 Episode Ratings

Overnight/ Consolidated/ AI
Episode 1- 8.2m- 10.54m- 83
Episode 2- 7.11m- 8.67m- 82
Episode 3- 6.39m- 8.09m- 83
Episode 4- 6.43m- 7.97m- 83
Episode 5- 6.12m- 7.49m- 79
Episode 6- 5.77m- TBC- TBC

Demons of the Punjab is the least most watched episode so far.. For those who were certain CLASS was remaining on the air.. You are probably feeling the same is true here.. We will see if they make a course correction next season, or remain in the path they are currently on.. But if the rest of the season is 5.77m Overnight or lower.. then there's just nothing I can say.. right now, it looks bad. Won't know until the next few episodes come out if the Overnights are any better.. consolidated is nice, but it is the overnight that is the most important, as it denotes enthusiasm.. and new time slot is no excuse people.. Either you are a fan or not. excitement to see it is there or not..
 
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Yeah, Matt Smith was basically using the sonic as a magic wand. Way more than Whitaker does here.

Yeah, jogging my memory about it (Which is still vague), Smith did use the Sonic a lot. I probably should have said Tennant, but he probably used it a lot too. I still don't remember Capaldi using it that much, and his series' were more recent.
 
Brillant!

It got real dusty at the end, marking the second time Who has made me cry. A remarkably well made investigation into Yas’ family and a beautiful rumination on issues all too relevant today. Yes, the aliens were relatively superfluous and The Doctor had to remain on the sidelines, but the story of the ill fated marriage and families torn asunder was absolutely gripping. Loved it.

This series is probably the most consistently excellent of NuWho, ever.
 
I still don't remember Capaldi using it that much, and his series' were more recent.

His screwdriver broke and he used those ridiculous sonic sunglasses instead for some of his run. Pretty much my least favourite feature of the Capaldi years ... followed by the electric guitar.

  • Or the Doctor... :p
Yeah. I think that's another reason was disappointed with episode.
 
I remember the glasses but was that every episode or just a couple? I'm starting to realize the Sonic screwdriver to Doctor Who is the treknobabble in Voyager and late TNG. I guess it would be nice if there was more to the doctor than that tool, which is why I love the scenes where she is building stuff.
 
Pretty good episode. I like that we seem to be using the episodes set in the past this season to teach the audience about history, though really we could have gone without the aliens. I don't know, maybe having alien witnesses who aren't part of the plot is a way of softening the audience for when they do eventually decide to do a proper historical without additional aliens besides the Doctor, but meh.

I will admit, for once my predictions were off. I figured at the start with Yaz's granny giving her the watch and being so evasive about where it came from they were setting up some sort of predestination paradox in which Granny knows what's about to happen because she remembers from her own youth. But instead, they pleasantly don't go there, and the real reason she doesn't want to talk about the watch's origins is because it's from a day she genuinely wants to forget.

Probably the strongest episode of the season so far, but I'll agree it is rather derivative of Father's Day and Twice Upon a Time.
 
I will admit, for once my predictions were off. I figured at the start with Yaz's granny giving her the watch and being so evasive about where it came from they were setting up some sort of predestination paradox in which Granny knows what's about to happen because she remembers from her own youth. But instead, they pleasantly don't go there, and the real reason she doesn't want to talk about the watch's origins is because it's from a day she genuinely wants to forget.
I thought that might happen, too, but I didn't think of it as a predestination paradox, merely Umbreen acknowledging that she knew Yaz was inexplicably present at her wedding. Yaz would've been curious with or without the watch.
 
Granny told Yaz that she was her favorite grandchild right in front of her sister. I tell my son that he is my favorite son, but he is also my only son.
The aliens mainly served as a red herring for who killed the holy man, among other things, but to me they were kind of wasted. Witnesses to those who die alone? And then all the floating heads at the end? Not impressed with all that.
 
Best episode of the season so far! In some ways, it was a very strong story. I suspect that it was actually written as love story set in that time, and that the Doctor and companions added in. The setting was really powerful. The point about the artificial border and angry voices riling up people who had been living peacefully together was poignant. I loved that.

I didn't love how the Doctor and companion were just observers. Although, their interactions were great. In fact, they did the equivalent of running up and down corridors in the classic series when they were running around the forest completely under the wrong idea about the aliens. That was all padding. It actually detracted from the story. The tension it created was all fake.

And, while I loved the main story, it again made the Doctor look ineffectual. All they could do was observe. In fact, they were made more ineffectual because they weren't even the best observers of the story--the aliens were!

In fact, the aliens really detract from the emotional end of the story. It should've been Yaz watching the guy get shot. That would've been powerful. Instead, right at the end, the aliens showed up and did the tough part and the Doctor and companions looked away. That seemed weak.

So, I really have mixed feelings. As a story, parts were fantastic. As a DW story, much less so. And, the lack of a real villain is nice for a change, but not most every story FFS!

Oh, and how does her Nan not remember Yaz and her friends from that time. Surely she would at such a pivotal time in her life! Not believable.
 
With regards to the point where Graham basically said, "how much do we really know about ourselves"

That line in the context of the episode was extremely powerful. And, I think there's a lot of truth in it. Even when there's not a big secret like that, there's so much lost and forgotten history, and different perspectives, and ways we spin our own memories, we probably don't have a great factual knowledge of our own stories.
 
Having slept on it I still really loved it, but I have to say I am getting a little tired of the Doctor and her companions being mere bystanders to history and I hope Jodie gets a bit more agency as we go along. At the moment they're too much like the aliens here, witnesses and nothing more.

That's really the point I'm at, and I thought this episode was the strongest of the season. However, not having a real villain to fight weakens the Doctor's character. She's mostly observing. And, that's great for a change of pace episode, but not so great when that's the norm.

I thought the aliens actually detracted from the story on a couple of fronts. One, they were a distraction and misdirection whose purpose was to create false tension. It left the Doctor and friends running up and down corridors, er, through the forest. And, it meant that the Doctor and friends weren't even the best at observing in this story! And, the aliens did the tough observing at the end when the guy got shot. At that point, the Doctor and friends were walking away. Yaz should've watched in remembrance for her Nan.

I actually wonder if this wasn't originally written as a non-DW historical love story, and then the DW aspect added in later. It really feels like it to me.
 
I really did enjoy it and thought it was brilliant.

I liked the addressing of the collateral damage from one of the more questionable moments in recent British history.

I liked the fact that Yaz thought she knew her grandmother (but not the full story) and from a certain point of view, she was telling the truth.

I liked the music, I loved the end theme and laughed when I realised that it was the main theme.

I loved the fact that it spoke about modern issues (such as nationalism) in the context of the partition of what was The Dominion of India into Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (and the People's Republic of Bangladesh) and the Second World War and on the day that 100 years before hand, the Great War ended.
 
These numbers are off..
If season 11 episode 5 is at 7.49m viewers and that is the combined from the overnight figure base of 6.12m viewers, then how can episode 6 be on track for 7.5m if the base overnight figures for episode 6 are 5.77m? I see a definite trend in decline.. so enjoy this experiment while it lasts.. but overnight figures and combined totals have been on a steady red arrow down since it's debut. Don't yell at me.. it's in the numbers.. here is an accurate representation, not taken from Twitter...
http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/doctor-who-series-11-2018-uk-ratings-accumulator-88397.htm
2018 Episode Ratings

Overnight/ Consolidated/ AI
Episode 1- 8.2m- 10.54m- 83
Episode 2- 7.11m- 8.67m- 82
Episode 3- 6.39m- 8.09m- 83
Episode 4- 6.43m- 7.97m- 83
Episode 5- 6.12m- 7.49m- 79
Episode 6- 5.77m- TBC- TBC

Demons of the Punjab is the least most watched episode so far.. For those who were certain CLASS was remaining on the air.. You are probably feeling the same is true here.. We will see if they make a course correction next season, or remain in the path they are currently on.. But if the rest of the season is 5.77m Overnight or lower.. then there's just nothing I can say.. right now, it looks bad. Won't know until the next few episodes come out if the Overnights are any better.. consolidated is nice, but it is the overnight that is the most important, as it denotes enthusiasm.. and new time slot is no excuse people.. Either you are a fan or not. excitement to see it is there or not..

Worth pointing out that episode 5 (the latest there's such stats for) was still the 6th most watched BBC show of the week, so yeah I'm sure the BBC are shitting themselves.

For vague comparison purposes I've done a spreadsheet of the ratings of each modern Doctor's first five episodes.

af4bc7236cadeb5b65e0658686acd0ce.jpg


I mean it only tells us so much, because in many ways we're talking apples and oranges (Tennant's 5th episode was a real outlier because it occurred during the World cup, his episode 6 lost 2 million! also his first regular episode wasn't his debut).

I think you can look at these numbers in two ways, depending on your agenda.

1. Jodie's figures are really healthy, she's doing better than Capaldi did in his first season (and WAY better than he did in his subsequent seasons.) and the show is still one of the most watched week in week out.
2. The drop off is more pronounced than it's been in previous debut seasons, she's haemorrhaging viewers and it'll only get worse.

Really I don't think we can judge until the end of the season. The drop off is more pronounced, but she started high and we are only 5 episodes in. Most Doctor's lose viewers before stabilising a little, I guess the question will be 'where will Jodie's point of equilibrium come'? but we can't know that yet. I have a feeling from here on in the figures will be more settled. I think she'll still finish her first season with better figures than Capaldi had for any of his seasons and whatever your view of 13, that's got to go down as a success from the BBC's perspective. I think it'll be her second series that will prove more interesting (and she will have a second series)
 
There's also very little point in comparing Series 1-3(4?) to Series 9-11. The first series iPlayer didn't exist and digital recorders weren't so popular. So Catch Up accounted for very little of the viewing, if you wanted to watch you had to watch when it was on.

By series 5 iPlayer did exist, Sky Plus wasn't an extra you had to pay for if you had Sky and Freeview recorders were readily available, though iPlayer only allowed for 7 day catch up.

By the last 2 or 3 series people have switched massively to catch up viewing, either via streaming or recording and you don't risk missing it if you don't get round to putting it on iPlayer until the end of the series it will still be there. Viewing is very different and I guess overnights only really matter to the BBC in terms of showing the level of general excitement, +7 and +28 will be more important and iPlayer requests, especially given they now put the iPlayer logo on as well as, or even instead of, the BBC One logo.
 
There's also very little point in comparing Series 1-3(4?) to Series 9-11. The first series iPlayer didn't exist and digital recorders weren't so popular. So Catch Up accounted for very little of the viewing, if you wanted to watch you had to watch when it was on.

By series 5 iPlayer did exist, Sky Plus wasn't an extra you had to pay for if you had Sky and Freeview recorders were readily available, though iPlayer only allowed for 7 day catch up.

By the last 2 or 3 series people have switched massively to catch up viewing, either via streaming or recording and you don't risk missing it if you don't get round to putting it on iPlayer until the end of the series it will still be there. Viewing is very different and I guess overnights only really matter to the BBC in terms of showing the level of general excitement, +7 and +28 will be more important and iPlayer requests, especially given they now put the iPlayer logo on as well as, or even instead of, the BBC One logo.

Indeed. In the last decade, the way TV in the UK (and everywhere I imagine) is consumed has changed dramatically.
 
I agree, and those numbers need to be taken with a big pinch of salt, but they're still interesting (note how every Doctor suffers a big drop off after they debut for instance). I really don't think the BBC are as bothered by the overnights as the overall ratings (if they were they'd have just stuck Killing Eve on weekly rather than dumping the whole show on iPlayer from the get go)
 
I don't recall seeing viewing figures for Killing Eve after the first one, I wonder how many people watched episode one and then watched the rest on iPlayer and how many hung around for the weekly viewing? I do seem to remember the first episode on BBC One got more viewers than the whole series combined on BBC America though.
 
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