Mister Fandango
Fleet Captain
The title says "scripts leaked online." How can you possibly be shocked that there's spoilers scattered throughout it?
First five scripts of series eight leaked online
- Thread starter Atticus
- Start date
I'm gonna read all five as I'm into script writing and like to see how scripts are translated and interpreted by directors. Plus I wanted to form the mental image in my head of how I interpret the script before I see it properly.
I have a nostalgic image of Invasion of the Dinosaurs in my head. 
Alright, finished the first one. Protecting the innocent:
From the script only I like the new Doctor, and I think I'll like him more than Smith, but then I never really warmed to him. The story was ok but I don't like the alien Victorian detectives that keep showing up. I also hated the "cameo" at the end. It's like a piss-poor way of passing the baton to Capaldi and reassuring viewers they're still the same man. Pity we didn't get the 'pick the outfit' sequence, but I look forward to seeing the cluttered Tardis. And yes, no more pining for the Doctor storylines. I think the fans are sick of it.
OK, I'm not going to read the scripts. Honestly you guys have done a good job with spoilers, but this is the gist. Asa a newcomer to Who, It seems that those who hate Moffat, are similar to those who hat JJ in Trek. If you like JJ trek, than whatever is coming is probably good, if you don't-It's crap. Same with Moffat, if you like the most recent Who, you'll probably at least give series 8 a go, right?
I haven't yet seen anything pre Eccleston, so I'm judging against that. I have enjoyed Up until now, including the last Christmas special. (I did point it out to my daughter that the Daleks weren't supposed to know who the Doctor was anymore... we had a good laugh.)
Anyway-looking forward to next month.
I haven't yet seen anything pre Eccleston, so I'm judging against that. I have enjoyed Up until now, including the last Christmas special. (I did point it out to my daughter that the Daleks weren't supposed to know who the Doctor was anymore... we had a good laugh.)
Anyway-looking forward to next month.
Yes, sort of. I wasn't a fan of Moffat but I didn't like Smith either. With Capaldi incoming I'm keen to see how he goes, despite finding Moffat's scripts awkward. He does great characterisation but story arcing is his weak point.
The main difference between JJ and Moffat, is that we know that Moffat is a talented writer who can occasionally excel. JJ is just a great bricklayer, with an understanding on emotion - but he's a hack.
I find myself not caring much about the leaked Dr Who scripts. Note that I don't mean I don't care for them, but that what I actually want out of Dr Who is the performances. Which you don't get in a script.
If it was a video of the episodes that had leaked to Youtube or something, damn right I'd have watched them, cos I want to see how Capaldi plays it, and I want to see how the various guest stars play it, and so on.
But you don't get that in the script, so I haven't bothered reading them. (except part of the fourth where I wanted to check whether the Clara thing was true).
And it's not cos I care about spoilers, maybe I'm just weird- but then again, I still haven't got round to reading the legit RTD scripts for season 4 that the BBC put up on their writer's room page a couple of years ago - just don't have the time or inclination.
If it was a video of the episodes that had leaked to Youtube or something, damn right I'd have watched them, cos I want to see how Capaldi plays it, and I want to see how the various guest stars play it, and so on.
But you don't get that in the script, so I haven't bothered reading them. (except part of the fourth where I wanted to check whether the Clara thing was true).
And it's not cos I care about spoilers, maybe I'm just weird- but then again, I still haven't got round to reading the legit RTD scripts for season 4 that the BBC put up on their writer's room page a couple of years ago - just don't have the time or inclination.
Again it's not a perfect Dalek story. The doctor makes an offhand comment about how shrinking you down to be inserted inside someone is a bad movie plot - which I whole heatedly agree with - and two minutes later they do it! At least this time there are Daleks killing people. The Battered Dalek reminds me of the Dalek in season one, which arguably was better than the one here. I really don't like this new aspect introduced in Smiths tenure of dropping the companions home between stories. It slows down the narrative and limits the momentum the season might have. The Missy arc is intriguing. I did appreciate Capaldi jumping straight into the Dalek story without brooding over them like the previous three time lords have done.
I didn't mind the Paternoster Gang here. That surprised me, because I've felt that they're a joke that's gone on too long. Here, Moffat wrote Vastra like she's Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, and Jenny and Strax split Nigel Bruce as Watson. (They're both dim muscle, basically.)
Clara's difficulty in accepting the Doctor's regeneration was disappointing, because she, more than any other companion, knows that the Doctor can change. It's not puzzling, though; there's a scene between Vastra and Clara that makes it clear, if not explicit, that Clara's issue is one of lust for the eleventh Doctor in particular, not unlike Emma's revulsive reaction to the Jim Broadbent Doctor in "Curse of the Fatal Death." In that light, the Doctor's apology to Clara at the end makes sense; the Doctor is "letting her off the hook," basically.
I want to see how Matt Smith's cameo plays out on screen before castigating it. On its own terms, it's okay; here's one more reassurance to Clara (and thus, the audience) that Capaldi is the same person as Smith. But I feel like, as written, it saps the regeneration sequence of "The Time of the Doctor" of some of its emotional power.
I'm curious who Missy is and what she wants. And what the Promised Land is. My early guess is that Missy is Susan's grandmother and the Promised Land is Gallifrey.
Clara's difficulty in accepting the Doctor's regeneration was disappointing, because she, more than any other companion, knows that the Doctor can change. It's not puzzling, though; there's a scene between Vastra and Clara that makes it clear, if not explicit, that Clara's issue is one of lust for the eleventh Doctor in particular, not unlike Emma's revulsive reaction to the Jim Broadbent Doctor in "Curse of the Fatal Death." In that light, the Doctor's apology to Clara at the end makes sense; the Doctor is "letting her off the hook," basically.
I want to see how Matt Smith's cameo plays out on screen before castigating it. On its own terms, it's okay; here's one more reassurance to Clara (and thus, the audience) that Capaldi is the same person as Smith. But I feel like, as written, it saps the regeneration sequence of "The Time of the Doctor" of some of its emotional power.
I'm curious who Missy is and what she wants. And what the Promised Land is. My early guess is that Missy is Susan's grandmother and the Promised Land is Gallifrey.
The regeneration sequence in "The Time of the Doctor" was what was needed for that episode. The scene here is part of an overall 'easing' from one Doctor to another that is kind of refreshing compared to the usual method of just moving on. I don't want to see timey-wimey crossover surrounding every regeneration, but it is nice to have now and again.
So, what are the Paternoster Gang's reactions to regeneration? Specifically, are they surprised by it? At the very least, Vastra shouldn't be, as she knew about regeneration in A Good Man Goes to War when she was looking over Melody Pond's DNA and asked the Doctor if it were possible for her to regenerate? For that matter, do they reference if any of them ever met a previous Doctor? Well, Jenny probably didn't, since she didn't even recognize the TARDIS in A Good Man, but Vastra and Strax owed the Doctor favors, and Vastra knows about regeneration. So does Strax if you count those Strax Field Reports.
They were a little surprised right at first, then Vastra said "Well then! Here we go again" after that they were fine. Clara is the one who has a hard time with it, while the others accepted it and Vastra knew the Doctor needed to rest. Also, the Doctor was not to happy in a few scenes that he had gotten older, but accepted it in the end.
When you think about it the Doctor did not regenerate from a young incarnation to an old incarnation. The 11th Doctor was 1100 (200 + 900) years old, the oldest of any incarnation, even the 1st doctor who regenerated at 450. So regeneration to Capaldi did make him younger. Now, if 11 did not spend 900 years on Trezalore and had to regenerate, I wonder if he would have regenerated older like he did.
True, but...
...the eleventh Doctor is still sort of upset that he's going to turn into a physically older-looking Doctor with gray hair. This is from the scene at the end where, during his regeneration on Trenzalore, he calls Clara on the TARDIS phone. I presume (because the script doesn't make it clear) that he's turned young (in other words, right before Clara steps into the TARDIS), and suddenly he's upset that he might become old.
Also, there's a conversation between Vastra and Clara earlier in the episode that suggests the reason why the Doctor regenerated older is that the Doctor no longer needed the "veil" of a young face. He was now free to be seen as he truly was. It's a nice scene. It's the scene in the episode that passes the Bechdel Test, too, thanks to some banter between Vastra and Jenny about the nature of their relationship.
Also, there's a conversation between Vastra and Clara earlier in the episode that suggests the reason why the Doctor regenerated older is that the Doctor no longer needed the "veil" of a young face. He was now free to be seen as he truly was. It's a nice scene. It's the scene in the episode that passes the Bechdel Test, too, thanks to some banter between Vastra and Jenny about the nature of their relationship.
It is also the same thing the Brigadier said when 3 regenerated to 4, so a bit of a homage there.
Worst line of dialogue EVER in a Dalek episode:
"We must find out comrade Dalek"
Seriously, what the actual fuck??? Terry Nation will be rolling in his grave come August 30. Daleks do not give a crap about other Daleks. In Master Plan the Surpreme blew up a ship of his own troops for failing to catch the Doctor. The High Councillor killed the Dalek leader on Spiridon in Planet. Davros sent suicide bombers in Destiny. Unpure Daleks in Victory. The entire Dalek civil war from Remembrance. Why do they care about finding their old shipmate? Are they worried the experiment might be used against them? Cos if so it's not indicated so in the script.
"We must find out comrade Dalek"
Seriously, what the actual fuck??? Terry Nation will be rolling in his grave come August 30. Daleks do not give a crap about other Daleks. In Master Plan the Surpreme blew up a ship of his own troops for failing to catch the Doctor. The High Councillor killed the Dalek leader on Spiridon in Planet. Davros sent suicide bombers in Destiny. Unpure Daleks in Victory. The entire Dalek civil war from Remembrance. Why do they care about finding their old shipmate? Are they worried the experiment might be used against them? Cos if so it's not indicated so in the script.
Wow that sounds fucking dreadful, I almost want to watch/read the episode as a comedy now! Will Davros be compared to Stalin if he ever returns now?
Still, I guess the Communist Daleks are still an improvement over Moffat's rainbow daleks.
