RTD Retrospective #2: Second Episodes

[Stevil2001]

Results from the last thread: What's your favorite series premiere?
43% - "Partners in Crime"
40% - "Smith and Jones"
13% - "Rose"
5% - "New Earth"

The poll was only decided by one vote last I checked. Curiously, a lot more people talked about "Smith and Jones" than did "Partners in Crime". And I don't think anyone talked about "New Earth" (positively) despite it garnering two!

But almost as important as a good first episode is a good second one. Once you've reeled them in, you need to hook 'em by really showing them what the show can do. What's your favorite?


What's interesting to me is that three of the four of these are historicals. That's because the first two seasons did a future episode followed by a past one, whereas the last two did a past one followed by a future one.

 

[captcalhoun]

fires of pompeii

 

[VDCNI]

Fires gets off to a really shaky start and as much as I loved Partners In Crime I wasn't convinced a second funny episode in a row was a good idea but then we got the soothsayer scene and from then on the episode was an amazing ride. Loved the moment in the escape pod when Donna joined with the Doctor to start the explosion and then the confrontation in the Tardis was nicely intense.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

"The Fires of Pompeii" without a doubt. Although I had hoped it would be a true historical, the episode still turned out to be quite enjoyable. Donna proved herself to me to be a grand companion by channeling Tegan (a la the beginning of Time-Flight) towards the end of the episode.

"The End of the World" is a fun romp and arguably a better introduction to the new series than "Rose" (but not a better introduction than "Smith and Jones"). The other two are mostly rubbish.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Pompeii, easily

 

[Kelso]

"The Fires of Pompeii" gets my vote... with "The End of the World" in second place.

This was a hard one. I really enjoyed all four episodes.

 

[Stevil2001]

^ Yeah, it's a really solid batch (with the exception of "The Shakespeare Code"... ugh). I voted for "The End of the World" myself; five years on and it perfectly encapsulates everything I want from my Doctor Who: crazy aliens, crazy pop culture references, a little bit of Doctor melancholy, and Billie Piper.

The flatness of the family's characterization in "The Fires of Pompeii" always lets it down for me, though I think the episode picks up from squirt-gun scene onwards. "Tooth and Claw" is a perfectly-executed chasing-a-monster story, and I'll always love "Books! Greatest weapons in the world!"

 

[Starkers]

Tooth and Claw, I'm a sucker for a good werewolf tale, could do without the stupid ninja monks but I love how excited Tennant is to see a werewolf.

To be honest though I love all four of these, there isn't a bad one amongst them!

 

[tomalak301]

The Fires of Pompii

No reason, even though The End of the World was great too.

 

[HappyDayRiot]

Fires of Pompeii is astounding. And added Peter Capaldi bonus!

 

[Worf2DS9]

Although I like all of these eps, I went with "Tooth and Claw". I liked the "gothic horror" feel to it, with the werewolf, the creepy mansion, creepy monks and overall dreary atmosphere. Plus, the Doctor using a Scottish accent and the running gag of trying to get the Queen to say she's not amused is fun.

 

[Kelthaz]

The Fires of Pompeii. There is no contest here.

 

[Mitty]

End of the World was important because it's where we found out Gallifrey was gone (which was a bit of a shock to me at the time). In retrospect it's also important for the first appearance of Captain Jack/The Face of Boe, though he's not important to the storyline at all. The special effects were awesome, I'd give anything to see a HD version of the episode but it wasn't filmed that way as far as I'm aware.

But, again, like others my vote goes for Fires of Pompeii. The final scene and the confrontation between Donna and the Doctor was amazing.

 

[Gepard]

I voted for "The End of the World" myself; five years on and it perfectly encapsulates everything I want from my Doctor Who: crazy aliens, crazy pop culture references, a little bit of Doctor melancholy, and Billie Piper.

Damn straight.

 

[Newspaper Taxi]

I thought Rose was an awful series premeire...I think that "The End of the World" should have been the first episode. It really has a sense of wonder that's infectious.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

"Tooth and Claw" is a perfectly-executed chasing-a-monster story, and I'll always love "Books! Greatest weapons in the world!"

I'm not a fan of "Tooth and Claw" but I love that moment.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

I might be wrong, but it seems to me that people love Donna so much around here that it makes this kind of thread very predictable. "The one with Donna" is very likely to win the popular vote every single time.

 

[selina]

"The Fires of Pompeii" (closely followed by "End of the World")

 

[HappyDayRiot]

I might be wrong, but it seems to me that people love Donna so much around here that it makes this kind of thread very predictable. "The one with Donna" is very likely to win the popular vote every single time.

That'll be tested by The Doctor's Daughter, Journey's End and TUATW polls at least.

 

[Kelso]

I might be wrong, but it seems to me that people love Donna so much around here that it makes this kind of thread very predictable. "The one with Donna" is very likely to win the popular vote every single time.

Well, it's hard to be sure. Season 4 had a lot of really good episodes. Though, in the first thread, "Partners in Crime" is neck-and-neck with "Smith and Jones" and Martha is hardly the most popular companion.

That'll be tested by The Doctor's Daughter, Journey's End and TUATW polls at least.

I'd be more worried if "The Sontaran Stratagem" beats out "The Girl in the Fireplace."