Knock Knock (Grade & Discussion Thread)

[publiusr]

The landlord pretended to be looking after his daughter but it was actually his mother.

For a moment--I thought it was Brent Spiner. Looked a bit like Data--the make-up did.

The one shining part of the whole episode (aside from The Doctor and Bill, of course) was David Suchet. I don't think I've ever seen him in any role other than Hercule Poirot so hearing his (I assume) his natural accent threw me off a bit, but I loved his performance nonetheless.

I was hoping to see more of him.

At first--I thought it was the wood itself that was alive. Look at wood long enough--with the patterns of grain, the knots--and you can see about anything you can imagine.

 

[DimesDan]

Yeah, I can't understand most of what she says. Have trouble with some of Capaldi, too.

I can totally understand what they are both saying.

 

[JRoss]

I can totally understand what they are both saying.

I am sure the problem is half with me. I have Asperger syndrome with resulting sensory issues. I can hear just fine, but sometimes words sound jumbled.

 

[StCoop]

I am sure the problem is half with me. I have Asperger syndrome with resulting sensory issues. I can hear just fine, but sometimes words sound jumbled.

Not just you. I ended up putting on the Subtitles because I was missing a lot of the dialogue.

 

[cultcross]

Really disappointing episode, a generic haunted house mystery with an uninteresting and weird conclusion, and what's with buildings being made out of little bugs this season? None of the housemates really resonated so their deaths were meaningless and their last minute resurrections therefore relieved no tension.
I still like Bill and her party trick of questioning the Doctor on long held clichés and assumptions. Capaldi did fine with what he was given too, I just thought this was a very weak plot. I'd like to see them off on adventures in the TARDIS properly, I miss those days. The stay-at-home companion thing that started after Amy's pregnancy ties the stories to modern day Earth and ends up having to write the companion into each story like Worf in the TNG movies.

 

[Lakenheath 72]

For myself, I often have the subtitles on for recent TV shows and movies. It seems that though the actors can read their lines, many of them have lost the ability of being clear in what they say. There are times, rare it is, when the words are lost in the music or ambient sounds. Doctor Who is no stranger to this - every episode of NuWho I have resorted to subtitles so I can understand what is being said.

As an American viewer, I am feeling resentful at BBC America for forcing me to make a choice. Do I watch a show I have no interest in seeing - Class - to watch the preview for the next episode, or do I watch Class? I should not be forced to watch another show so that I can see next week's preview for Doctor Who.

Am I alone in this, or did the young adults in this episode come off as entitled twats?

 

[TommyR01D]

Am I alone in this, or did the young adults in this episode come off as entitled twats?

Entitled to what?

So, it has emerged in various new publications that Fields House (in Newport) previously appeared as Wester Drumlins in Blink.

 

[TommyR01D]

Sorry, that was rubbish. There was no story, just some creepy corridors and then we meet the mother and everything's fixed in two minutes. The entire thing was utterly pointless. The season doesn't seem to be progressing in any way - we've had the same tease about the 'arc' for four episodes in a row now.

I agree that that seems like the obvious answer, which is exactly what makes me think that's not what it is. Moffat deliberately let the Simm Master be seen in the trailer, then he set up this obvious question of "who's in the box?" He knows perfectly well we would put two and two together and assume that the Master is in the Vault, which makes me think that's too obvious, and he's actually playing a deeper game than that. Because if not, then he's basically given the entire mystery away in the trailer and rendered the entire season spoiled, and why would he do that?

Moffat is clever enough to deliberately misdirect us like that. He's done it repeatedly before - let out set photos that show Cybermen so that we wouldn't be thinking about Missy being a female Master. Letting everyone know Missy wasn't dead so that we'd be wondering about that and not be expecting oops! there's Davros. Encourage 'spoilers' that the Clara in the diner was a timeline splinter so that the twist that it's the Doctor who can't remember her would be a surprise.

I can only hope that this is another double bluff here because if it is the Master in that box, even despite all the clues that are rightly being pointed out, then it's just too obvious and we've already figured it all out by episode four.

.

Yeah, I'm not completely convinced it's The Master either simply because it seems so obvious.

I'm not sure there is any truth to the idea the Moffat plays a "deep game".

When has that been true? Or is it something he believes about himself?

I remember He Who Moans doing videos about just this issue. A large number of fans worked out the Master-Mistress-Missy gimmick the instant they saw "Missy" as a character name in the leaked script for Deep Breath but probably dismissed it because "Naaaah, he wouldn't do something that obvious!"...but he did. Perhaps it was a deliberate double bluff.

Personally I lost any capacity for investment in the annual mystery box routine many seasons back.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Famous last words. Remember who River turned out to be? The Question? The Doctor's "death"? Those all seemed too obvious, too.

Yeah....fair point.

I was hoping to see more of him.

So did I. An actor of his caliber deserved a better story. He did wonders with what he was given, but he could've done so much more.

 

[Mr Awe]

I am sure the problem is half with me. I have Asperger syndrome with resulting sensory issues. I can hear just fine, but sometimes words sound jumbled.

No, not just you. I'm rewatching B7 and I don't need subtitles. I watch classic Who and I don't need subtitles. I watch earlier seasons of nuWho and I don't need subtitles. Something about poor enunciation and overly loud music. I can get most of the lines but there's enough that I miss that I do put the subtitles on.

 

[The Wormhole]

Moffat is clever enough to deliberately misdirect us like that. He's done it repeatedly before - let out set photos that show Cybermen so that we wouldn't be thinking about Missy being a female Master.

No, as soon as everyone first learned about Missy, they automatically figured out she was a female Master.

 

[Lakenheath 72]

Entitled to what? Their own private rooms. The need for modern gadgetry.

 

[cultcross]

Electricity and private rooms aren't much to ask from a private let.

 

[Orac Zen]

Well, that was pretty pointless, IMO. A house haunted by / made out of alien bugs, a mildly creepy bloke trying to save his mother, and...what? Bill remains likeable but the episode was just there and didn't achieve much. New Who continues to use the essential premise very poorly, for mine. Get out there and travel in time and space rather than continuing to carry on as though Earth's the only planet in the universe.

If whatever's in the vault turns out to be the Master (or worse, the execrable "Missy"), I'll be very tempted to tune out. The overuse of the Daleks and the (pseudo)Cybermen in new Who is bad enough, but Jacobi's version aside the Master has been beyond pathetic in the new series. Something / someone original for a change, please.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Pretty Standard For Students.

David Suchet automatically makes everything better. Without him, I'd've said Knock It Off!

I must admit, I kinda liked Doctor deducing the role reversal. And the tuning fork motif was interesting, but a lot of that was just Suchet being awesome. And I suppose the flatmates were interesting due to their nice variety.

But, enough already, Knock It Off! Pretty Standard For Students.

 

[Starkers]

Get out there and travel in time and space rather than continuing to carry on as though Earth's the only planet in the universe.

This is the only episode of series 10 so far set entirely on present day Earth, and next week we're back in space so out of the first five episodes only one has had an entirely present day setting.

 

[DimesDan]

And, when did Billy become a student?

She. Goes. By. The. Name. Bill.

As for a Freshers party was mentioned, when this episode started it would seem although she was also attending lectures in The Pilot.

Entitled to what? Their own private rooms. The need for modern gadgetry.

Really, you think that is entitlement? Given they're University Students, they're adults and shouldn't be expected to share a room, plus, why shouldn't they expect things such as electricity and ability to access the internet?

 

[Photoman15]

I think the Doctor got her admitted (enrolled) in the Pilot. He told her if she gets anything but an "A"....

 

[StCoop]

Don't forget The Pilot takes place over nearly a year. Plenty of time for things to change.

 

[Pindar]

Another 4/5 for me, definitly my favourite Capaldi season.