Oxygen (Grade & Discussion Thread)
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Although the plot was rather derivitive (eg. Silence/Forest, Waters of Mars, etc.), I found it better paced than Knock, Knock. KK suffered ex post infodump; while in this episode we learned bit by bit about what was happening.
Given the clip I just saw had Bill have a D&M with a potential (?) GF, and the Pope walks, in, ranting in Italian...
Given the clip I just saw had Bill have a D&M with a potential (?) GF, and the Pope walks, in, ranting in Italian...
That must be nice, too.
That must be nice, too.
Yes. Very much so.
Just realized that this is the first episode this season without any kind of flashback which is a relief. Most of them have been unnecessary and distracting so I'm glad this episode held off, especially considering it could have done one with Ivan and Ellie.
Hm, true. I did forget about that, probably because it used a different special effect and was part of the sequence of her losing consciousness due to oxygen deprivation. In other words, it felt natural. 
Something that's been bothering me, though it isn't directly about this episode per se. Okay, this episode does go to great length to talk about the effects of space vacuum to an unprotected individual, so okay, hooray for science. But this just makes it stand out more glaringly the other times the show disregarded this. Like in The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (or whatever the 2011 Christmas special was called) we see the Doctor flailing madly unprotected in the vacuum for several minutes. Or even worse, the scene where Bill asks why she needs the helmet since she already has an oxygen field and the Doctor reminding us about exposure to the vacuum just reminded me of those silly space helmets from Four to Doomsday.
I definitely agree about Moffat being burnt out, but still it always seems like all his seasons had disposable episodes that contributed nothing. In fact, back in season 6 we had episodes swap places from the two halves of the season, which is how important they were to the ongoing storyline. I don't know, I suppose to some degree filler should be expected, but at times I wonder if Moffat is cut out for 12-13 episode seasons. It really feels like Sherlock gets more done in three episodes than Doctor Who does in a dozen, IMO.
I could have used something to remind me who Ivan was. I didn't realize until his "reunion" with Ellie that he was the guy from the opening scene.
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Another average episode. This season isn't ending up being as good as the opening two episodes hinted at, but we've gotten no outright bad episodes and the Doctor/Bill friendship is good, so its definitely a lot better then Series 8 and will probably end up being better then Series 9.
I do hope we get one episode that isn't a horror/monster episode before the end of the series. It seems silly to have to say that, but so far all we've gotten is horror or monster stories. Five in a row is a bit much, even for Doctor Who, and some non-horror Sci Fi stories would be appreciated.
I do hope we get one episode that isn't a horror/monster episode before the end of the series. It seems silly to have to say that, but so far all we've gotten is horror or monster stories. Five in a row is a bit much, even for Doctor Who, and some non-horror Sci Fi stories would be appreciated.
How is this anything different to RTD? Or classic Who, or in fact every episodic genre TV show? Was every episode of an RTD season integral to the season arc? Give me something great like Oxygen over something like 42 or The Doctor's Daughter any day. Those were disposable episodes.
I think people are already setting up Chibnall for the same kind of fall they set Moffat for to be honest, and I think people have a somewhat rose-tinted remembrance of RTD's era, but that's just my opinion obviously and I'm self aware enough to know I was never the world's biggest RTD fan.
I'd certainly agree that Moffat was burnt out, but judging by this season so far he seems to have got his second wind (maybe that year's break and getting Sherlock out of the way helped) I do think there's a finite time period for someone to run the show, and I think RTD had it about right with 4ish years. That said if Chibnall does institute a writer's room that might help.
That's certainly true. I guess I just liked RTD's disposable episodes more than Moffat's. *Shrug*
Although since The Doctor's Daughter helped start a family, I'd hardly call that "disposable."
I certainly don't expect Chibnall to walk on water, I just think at this point a change of perspective running the show can only imrove it and make things more interesting.
hmm, I should rewatch 42 and Sleep No More and watch this again and compare. Talk about having time to waste... 
I wonder if having the blue guy die was a joke about horror movies or not. Given the ham-fisted lampshading about being "Bluish" it's probably a coincidence.
That's certainly true. I guess I just liked RTD's disposable episodes more than Moffat's. *Shrug*
Although since The Doctor's Daughter helped start a family, I'd hardly call that "disposable."
I certainly don't expect Chibnall to walk on water, I just think at this point a change of perspective running the show can only imrove it and make things more interesting.
Ha ha good point about The Doctor's Daughter, and I agree I think the show does need a new show-runner. That said, and it seems odd to say about a show that can, conceivably, do anything, but I do wonder if there is a creative limit to Dr Who? I mean you saw this in the classic series as well. How many base under siege stories? How many alien invasion stories? Why does there have to be a alien/monster every episode? Often its the same kind of story, only the setting/characters change.
Something I've just thought about upon watching the episode a second time.
Thoughts?
I wonder if next week the Doctor released Missy from the Vault for assistance with the Monks or whateverthe threat of the episode is, due to his blindness being a hindrance. The final line of the episode (which I've since forgotten) following the shot of Missy made me think this.
The sooner they end this Vault storyline the better. The show shouldn't be about the Doctor having to stay on earth guarding something, and the fact that we're 5 episodes in and this is as big an issue as it is I'm ready for it to be done. I really hope they don't drag it out any longer than they have to.
As for the episode, I liked it better than last week. At least this one had an interesting sci fi concept and wasn't troupe galore like last week's was. I do agree though, the guest characters were really not memorable.
As for when this thread is posted, I don't really care all that much. Honestly though, if it was posted a week earlier and the trailer for the next episode was posted, I might be happy with that because of BBC America's dumb decision and the fact that the next day I always forget to go to youtube and check the trailer.
As for the episode, I liked it better than last week. At least this one had an interesting sci fi concept and wasn't troupe galore like last week's was. I do agree though, the guest characters were really not memorable.
As for when this thread is posted, I don't really care all that much. Honestly though, if it was posted a week earlier and the trailer for the next episode was posted, I might be happy with that because of BBC America's dumb decision and the fact that the next day I always forget to go to youtube and check the trailer.
Ironically, I failed to make the same connection until that moment as well, but I'm still glad they didn't include a flashback to the intro.
I certainly don't expect Chibnall to walk on water, I just think at this point a change of perspective running the show can only imrove it and make things more interesting.[/QUOTE]
I agree that we shouldn't be piling up expectations for Chibnall as a measure of failure, but I still maintain that doing away Earthbound companions is essential. That aspect of the show in recent years is my biggest complaint against Moffat, even more so than his overindulgent, overly-complicated story arcs.
The blindness could be cured as part of the "reset" we've seen twice now, that then leads to a regeneration.
Be interesting to see if there's a plot reason the Doctor can't just "burn" a little regen energy to heal his eyes like he healed River's broken wrist in The Angels Take Manhattan. The prisoner might be able to leech off it? New regen cycle means new rules? Not even sure he CAN regenerate since it's not clear how many regenerations the Time Lords gave him in Time of the Doctor?
Or did the Moff just figure that was too easy a cop-out and would let the Doctor basically become Wolverine? He kept the "within the first 15 hours of regeneration" super-healing bit from RTD, but may have decided anything else was too much.
Or did the Moff just figure that was too easy a cop-out and would let the Doctor basically become Wolverine? He kept the "within the first 15 hours of regeneration" super-healing bit from RTD, but may have decided anything else was too much.
If he were the first to go I'd give it to you. Actually, when he first showed up, I immediately thought "Bolian."
I think the main problem is that the show is stuck in a rut in which writers think there has to be an alien threat and or a monster involved in some manner, and unfortunately there is only so much you can do in that setting. Also, there seems to be a habit of keeping everything somewhat sci-fi, despite the fact that IMO, some of the best Doctor Who is when it does genre-bending stuff.
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