Just watched 'Love & Monsters'...

[Cky]

I love this episode of Doctor Who, I'm not really sure why but I just think it's a great episode.

Anyway the point of making this thread is because there was a scene which got me thinking. The scene where we're looking through the eyes of Elton as a child when he meets The Doctor and sees his mother lying on the floor got me thinking, as The Doctor is only seen through his eyes for only a couple of seconds at best, I thought that would have been a brilliant time for a quick cameo from Paul McGann. I mean they already thought that there was more than one Doctor, or the name was passed on, and he heard the engines of the Tardis, and the fact there was no Rose present could have justified the quick cameo.

Now granted there wouldn't really have been any justification in bringing him back for all of 2 seconds, but watching that just made me think how great it would have been to see the Eighth Doctor again (and not in a drawing or a hologram).

Just a thought.

 

[Starkers]

At the time I thought the same thing (although I actually thought it would have been good to use Davison) Frankly it was so dark you could have used any of the living doctors and just relied on the voice.

In hindsight though I can see it would have confused the hell out of a lot of people watching, ironically that would probably play a lot better now after Human Nature 2 parter/ time Crash and The Next Doctor.

As for Love and Monsters...RTD at his best and worst all in one episode

 

[Cutter John]

I thought it was fun. Not something I rewatch often, but not nearly deserving of all the flak fans give it. And yes I did squee at the ELO bit tyvm.

Although I will admit that being chased down the street by a fat grey alien dressed in only a Speedo continues to hold a prominent place in my own personal Hell.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I thought it was fun. Not something I rewatch often, but not nearly deserving of all the flak fans give it. And yes I did squee at the ELO bit tyvm.

Although I will admit that being chased down the street by a fat grey alien dressed in only a Speedo continues to hold a prominent place in my own personal Hell.

Yeah, the hyped Peter Kay element was ultimately disappointing, but Marc Warren and Shirley Henderson were excellent in this episode. I still love it overall.

 

[Starkers]

^ Yeah Warren and Henderson were great, quite possibly the sweetest romance RTD has written in the Whoverse.

I think that most annoyed me about it was that it's so close to a true classic. If they lost the paving slab joke at the end, if they toned down the Peter Kay alien...just a bit of reigning in and this could have been the greatest episode of Who ever...yes even better than Blink

The other great bit in this episode is one of Jackie Tyler's finest moments. She was probably at her most likeabe here.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

^^ The paving slab joke was the funniest bit!

 

[Starkers]

^ No it wasn't, it was lousy end to a sweet character and the kind of sexual humour not needed in a family show. IMO of course

 

[jamestyler]

The slab thing seemed a bit odd to be - but only because of the Five Doctors. Forgetting that - it seemed silly enough to fit with the ep but left me with a mental image not much worse than tubgirl

I think it gets a bad rep, but for what it was I enjoyed it. There were good and bad elements - mainly Peter Kay for the latter.

As for McGann... it would have been nice to see him on screen again, and have the uber fan boys throwing a hissy fit, but I think it's important that Elton recognises 'his' Doctor at the end.

 

[Count Zero]

I quite liked the ending of the episode. A weirdly happy ending. It's those weird story twists that I love about Who.

 

[Cky]

I didn't really like the slab bit, I thought the episode lost it's meaning after that. I mean he lost everything he loves, and now he's going to have a relationship with a paving slab? Okay...! But I actually thought Jackie Tyler wasn't as annoying as she normally was, I hate that character with passion, but she didn't seem half bad this time.

As for McGann, I suppose you're right jamestyler, I suppose Elton needed to know it was his Doctor, like the episodes 'Human Nature' and 'Family of Blood'. But it would have been nice just to have a little nod for the Eighth Doctor, letting us actually see him do something else.

 

[Iamnotspock]

As for Love and Monsters...RTD at his best and worst all in one episode

This totally sums up how I feel about it too.

I do remember really liking Jackie in this one too. I think it's because it's the first time we really get to know her as a character in her own right and not just "Rose's mum", and she becomes quite a sympathetic, lonely character. It's a real shame that she finds that photo in Elton's jacket.

 

[Icemizer]

Jackie was great in this one and I really do miss her character.

 

[Bacl]

As for Love and Monsters...RTD at his best and worst all in one episode

This totally sums up how I feel about it too.

I do remember really liking Jackie in this one too. I think it's because it's the first time we really get to know her as a character in her own right and not just "Rose's mum", and she becomes quite a sympathetic, lonely character. It's a real shame that she finds that photo in Elton's jacket.

I loved her dumping the wine on him so shamelessly, just to get her shirt off.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Jackie was great in this one and I really do miss her character.

Amen to that. For a while, I kept thinking of a way to keep Rose out of it but bring Jackie back as a regular companion for half a season or so.

But other than Jackie, I really hate this episode. The slab bit at the end tries to be sweet but just ends up creepy. And I can't stand sci-fi shows that play on nerd stereotypes so much. (Neither was I too fond of Dr. Felger on Stargate SG-1 or the Trio on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The kid in Torchwood in "Random Shoes" was a bit better.)

 

[Cky]

He was a nerd? I just thought they were a bunch of friends who had their own lives together. I think a nerd that gets a chance to play with Jackie's big bobbly, timey-wimey bits automatically becomes a legend. As long as he's smart enough to gag her that is.

 

[StCoop]

And I can't stand sci-fi shows that play on nerd stereotypes so much. (Neither was I too fond of Dr. Felger on Stargate SG-1 or the Trio on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

It's not like they weren't accurate or presented in a positive light. The LINDA group represented the good side of fandom, the people who get together to have some fun. Kennedy the bad, the people who think there's a "right" way to be a fan and want to control everything. (Basically he's Ian Levine.)

Anyway, I think this episode was 40 minutes of brilliance and 5 minutes of Peter Kay running around in the rain in a rubbish costume. And I can live with the latter since it gave us the former.

 

[The Lensman]

I think that most annoyed me about it was that it's so close to a true classic. If they lost the paving slab joke at the end, if they toned down the Peter Kay alien...just a bit of reigning in and this could have been the greatest episode of Who ever.

Greatest ever? I don't know about that, but it certainly would've been better than it was.

I remember watching this ep the first time and thinking how great it was. When the alien shows up, it just got unrealistically goofy....annnnnd kept going downhill, with the capper being the slab girl at the end.

I mean, what a horrific existence!

 

[Stevil2001]

I don't have a problem with the Abzorbaling... Abzorbatron... Abzorbaloff! but I think bringing back Moaning Myrtle fundamentally undermines the point of the story. And the thing where it turns out the Doctor was at Elton's mother's death but he somehow couldn't remember was just kind of dumb.

 

[Samurai8472]

The thing that bothered me was the music. Is it a requirement for every UK based tv show or movie (bridget jones, Notting Hill) to be loaded with pop songs?

 

[Worf2DS9]

^ Hey, I loved all the E.L.O. in that ep!