Russell T Davies yes/no

[Gepard]

Metaphor for his death as an unresolved issue in Rose's life; until something like that is confronted, it will run like a loop in the background, waiting for closure. Yeah, it doesn't make literal sense, but it's a human truth, and as a finale is thus more reasonable than all the inverse tachyon beams emitted by any number of deflectors over the run of Star Trek.

...I guess what I'm saying is, Doctor Who rules.

 

[Thestral]

Amy just didn't seem to serve much of a purpose. Yeah, she introduced the Cracks, but as a character, I found her boring and bitchy. I really liked Rory, though, and I wish he had been in more of the season.

Man, I adored Amy and didn't find her boring at all. Rory, otoh... I finally warmed up to him about five minutes before the end of "Cold Blood" and thought he was great in the finale, but before then... ergh.

I loved Season 5 in general though, and I say this as a proud RTD non-hater.

 

[RoJoHen]

I just couldn't figure out what Amy was supposed to be doing half the time. I did not enjoy her personality, and I thought she treated Rory like shit. I just didn't find her very likable, so it was hard for me to care about anything that happened to her.

She had moments where I thought she was fantastic, but for the most part I just didn't enjoy her. I'm hoping she'll be better in the next series, because I do think she has potential.

 

[Starkers]

Or that we're more discerning than the transients who just tune for

Ah, no - the thing about real fans of something - and this isn't just Dr Who, but Trek, sports teams, anything - is that they will eventually always boil and boil until they reduce down to one of two extremes - everything is fantastic and anyone who disagrees is a heretic, or the whole thing has been totally ruined by something other than just the fact that the fan has probably grown out of it.

And yes, this is the same mechanism that works to create religious extremism - the only difference there is that the fans are fans of specific choices of belief systems.

Yeah, and I think people just don't get that without the "transients" (I have visions of tramps watching Who now) the show probably would have died a death. Even RTD at his pop culturist worst still managed to make a show that trod a fine line between integrity and merely pandering to the masses, and was still better than most stuff on telly.

Theres one thing I've learned in life. And thats some people like certain things. While others like different things. And theres really no point arguing about it.

Passes the time I guess

Seriously though, QFT!

Series 5 compared to RTD's series...I say this. It feels like something is missing, an epic bombastic in your faceness (sorry that isn't a word) However for me it was nowhere near as annoying as RTD's seasons could be at times. There was also a sense of hesitency about it in places, but to be honest S1 was no different so I think it's a matter of a new production crew finding their feet and I expect the next series to be a lot better.

So to sum it, it maybe didn't quite explode out of the telly in the same way that it had before, but by the same token I wasn't tearing my hair out half the time either, and I'd take Eleven/Amy/Moff over Ten/Rose/RTD anyday.

I really like Amy, but I can see why people don't, and I hope they make her a touch more likeable this coming year. Rory, like Micky before him, has really grown on me....

Wish he'd

Spoiler: series 5 spoilers

stayed an auton though, that would have been cool

And I'd like to take this opportunity to apologise to Bones.

I didn't mean to call you bone, it was just a typo

 

[Sci]

The only thing missing is a sense of gay whimsy. It's Doctor Who for the heterosexual man...

That has to be the single most homophobic, heterosexist thing I've ever seen you say. I'm disappointed -- I knew you didn't like RTD, but I thought at least you weren't into that "he's making the show GAY" bullshit.

For the record, mind you, Steven Moffat is the guy behind the single most whimsical gay joke in the history of Doctor Who. In "Time Crash:"

FIVE: The Master? Does he still have that rubbish beard?

TEN: No, no beard this time! Well, a wife.

ETA:

Series 5 compared to RTD's series...I say this. It feels like something is missing, an epic bombastic in your faceness (sorry that isn't a word) However for me it was nowhere near as annoying as RTD's seasons could be at times. There was also a sense of hesitency about it in places, but to be honest S1 was no different so I think it's a matter of a new production crew finding their feet and I expect the next series to be a lot better.

Well, I think that's at least in part a reaction to who's playing the Doctor. Neither Eccleston nor Smith have the same kind of infectious charisma that Tennant has -- RTD wrote Tennant-era Doctor Who much lighter than he had with Eccleston because of it, I suspect. Tennant is a much sunnier person and it shows.

Which is not to say that Smith or Eccleston lack charisma -- but it's a different kind. And Eccleston, of course, just oozes melancholy in a way that neither Tennant nor Smith do, so I suspect that's in part why Series One has a darker tone than the Tennant era.

With Series Five, though, I also think it's a reflection of the change in writers. If you look at Moffat's work in Doctor Who, he always strikes me as being much less emotionally bombastic, much more emotionally restrained. For all that he's proud to be Scottish, he has a very English writing sensibility about himself, at least in Doctor Who. (Ironically, of Moffat's work that I've seen, it's his work in Coupling that strikes me as having the emotional tone closest to the one RTD brought to Doctor Who.)

 

[Pseudo]

The only thing missing is a sense of gay whimsy. It's Doctor Who for the heterosexual man...

That has to be the single most homophobic, heterosexist thing I've ever seen you say. I'm disappointed -- I knew you didn't like RTD, but I thought at least you weren't into that "he's making the show GAY" bullshit.

Wow, someone's having a massive sense of humour failure. And if that's the single most homophobic thing you've ever seen you've obviously missed Don't Ask, Don't Tell; The Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill; Catholicism; Judaism; Methodism; Mormonism; Islam; Numerous Zimbabwean campaigns against homosexuality; The Holocaust; Iranian persecution of homosexuals and the Jamaican Offences Against the Person Act.

 

[VDCNI]

The only thing missing is a sense of gay whimsy. It's Doctor Who for the heterosexual man...

That has to be the single most homophobic, heterosexist thing I've ever seen you say. I'm disappointed -- I knew you didn't like RTD, but I thought at least you weren't into that "he's making the show GAY" bullshit.

Wow, someone's having a massive sense of humour failure. And if that's the single most homophobic thing you've ever seen you've obviously missed Don't Ask, Don't Tell; The Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill; Catholicism; Judaism; Methodism; Mormonism; Islam; Numerous Zimbabwean campaigns against homosexuality; The Holocaust; Iranian persecution of homosexuals and the Jamaican Offences Against the Person Act.

That's he's ever seen that poster say - not that anyone has ever said.

That would be stupid.

 

[Sci]

The only thing missing is a sense of gay whimsy. It's Doctor Who for the heterosexual man...

That has to be the single most homophobic, heterosexist thing I've ever seen you say. I'm disappointed -- I knew you didn't like RTD, but I thought at least you weren't into that "he's making the show GAY" bullshit.

Wow, someone's having a massive sense of humour failure.

Jokes are supposed to be funny. That was not; it was simply disgusting.

And if that's the single most homophobic thing you've ever seen

I said it was the most homophobic, heterosexist thing I'd ever seen The say, not the most homophobic thing I'd ever seen. Please read more carefully.

 

[The]

^ Lighten-up, it was a joke...

A homophobic joke, yeah. Also not funny -- so, no not a joke at all. Just anti-homosexual. Well done.

No, not anti-homosexual. A fucking joke. I'm sure it's an easy and convenient method of dismissing my opinion, but having a knee-jerk reaction over it just portrays your own elitism and ignorance. But, that's cool. You continue to believe yourself superior, and I'll continue to laugh at you.

 

[Sci]

^ Lighten-up, it was a joke...

A homophobic joke, yeah. Also not funny -- so, no not a joke at all. Just anti-homosexual. Well done.

No, not anti-homosexual. A fucking joke. I'm sure it's an easy and convenient method of dismissing my opinion,

Coming from a guy who always dismisses others' opinions, that's amusing to hear. But suffice it to say that I was disappointed because I couldn't recall you ever jumping on the "RTD made Doctor Who gay" bandwagon before, and because it's simply not accurate. Like I said, Steven Moffat is responsible for the single most whimsical gay joke in the entirety of modern Who.

 

[Shatnertage]

I'm getting series 5 for Christmas and you guys are making me nervous.

I think it's great. While watching one episode, my wife looked over at how excited I was and said, "You're like a little kid!" She meant it in a good way.

Yeah, the Dalek episode was flat to me, and there were times when I didn't understand everything, but on the whole it was a great season, and Matt Smith is phenomenal. It will be a Merry Christmas for you, I'm sure.

 

[The]

The only thing missing is a sense of gay whimsy. It's Doctor Who for the heterosexual man...

That has to be the single most homophobic, heterosexist thing I've ever seen you say. I'm disappointed -- I knew you didn't like RTD, but I thought at least you weren't into that "he's making the show GAY" bullshit.

Oh boo-fucking-hoo you whiny drama queen! Why are you assuming that's at ALL what I meant, huh? Oh that's right. It's Sci. Everything is a goddamn "cause" with you, isn't it? Hyperbole, away!

Could it be...perhaps....just maybe...that my little joke meant that Moffat's themes and tones are, to me, profoundly more serious than RTD's? Does it click with you that, not only was I winking an eye at the ridiculousness of the entire RTD-Gay-Agenda nonsense to begin with, but seriously stating that Moffat's tone lacks the literal "whimsy" of Russel's era? No, of course not. It's so much easier for you to just jump on whatever bandwagon is passing by, as long as you appear morally superior. Right? Nice.

 

[The]

Coming from a guy who always dismisses others' opinions,

You mean always dismisses your opinion, right?

 

[Satyrquaze]

the only one i really despised was VOYOTD.

Bones, you calling someone else a hater is a bit like Methusalah telling Favre that he's too old to play ball.

That said...
Rose - YES
The End of the World - YES
Aliens of London/World War Three - no
The Long Game - no
Boom Town - YES
Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways - YES
The Christmas Invasion - YES
New Earth - YES
Tooth and Claw - no
Love and Monsters - YES
Army of Ghosts/Doomsday - YES
The Runaway Bride - no
Smith and Jones - no
Gridlock - YES
Utopia - YES
The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords - YES
Voyage of the Damned - no
Partners in Crime - no
Midnight - YES
Turn Left - no
The Stolen Earth/Journey's End - YES
The Next Doctor - no
Planet of the Dead - no
The Waters of Mars - no
The End of Time – YES

 

[Starkers]

I'm getting series 5 for Christmas and you guys are making me nervous.

I think it's great. While watching one episode, my wife looked over at how excited I was and said, "You're like a little kid!" She meant it in a good way.

I think my girlfriend said something similar whilst I was watching The 11th Hour!

 

[Sci]

The only thing missing is a sense of gay whimsy. It's Doctor Who for the heterosexual man...

That has to be the single most homophobic, heterosexist thing I've ever seen you say. I'm disappointed -- I knew you didn't like RTD, but I thought at least you weren't into that "he's making the show GAY" bullshit.

Could it be...perhaps....just maybe...that my little joke meant that Moffat's themes and tones are, to me, profoundly more serious than RTD's? Does it click with you that, not only was I winking an eye at the ridiculousness of the entire RTD-Gay-Agenda nonsense to begin with, but seriously stating that Moffat's tone lacks the literal "whimsy" of Russel's era?

Why would you even begin to link the idea of whimsy to the idea of homosexuality, then? What would even begin to make you link the two? And why would you then follow it up by calling Moffat's work "Doctor Who for the heterosexual man" as though that made it superior to RTD's Doctor Who (which, since you're contrasting them, is implicitly being said to be for the homosexual man)?

Seriously. You say that you're making fun of the idea of there being a gay agenda, but you're playing into the exact same paradigm that those heterosexists use -- the paradigm of "LGBT bad, heterosexuality good." You've made it clear that you think the seriousness of Moffat's show is superior to the more whimsical nature of RTD's. (And I think it's fair to say that RTD was more whimsical than Moffat has been.) So why would you link the "gay/straight" paradigm to the "whimsical/serious" paradigm unless your point is that heterosexuality is superior to homosexuality in the same way that seriousness is superior to whimsy?

You say you're making fun of the idea of a gay agenda, but you're using a comparison that plays into the idea that heterosexuality is superior. So either you worded yourself very, very badly, or you actually do think heterosexuality is superior to homosexuality.

Coming from a guy who always dismisses others' opinions,

You mean always dismisses your opinion, right?

Nope. I've seen you do the same thing in other forums where we don't interact. It's a consistent pattern for you, especially when people construct logical arguments that take your theses apart.

 

[Pseudo]

That has to be the single most homophobic, heterosexist thing I've ever seen you say. I'm disappointed -- I knew you didn't like RTD, but I thought at least you weren't into that "he's making the show GAY" bullshit.

Wow, someone's having a massive sense of humour failure.

Jokes are supposed to be funny. That was not; it was simply disgusting.

No, it was funny.

And if that's the single most homophobic thing you've ever seen

I said it was the most homophobic, heterosexist thing I'd ever seen The say, not the most homophobic thing I'd ever seen. Please read more carefully.

Yeah, sorry I got a bit red-misty at your obvious hyperbolic lack of a sense of humour. It's okay to take offence at things which are obviously meant to be offensive, but venting righteous indignation at an off-hand comedic remark is more than a little sanctimonious. But, that's just my opinion.

 

[Rowan Sjet]

Bearing in mind its been years since I've seen some of these episodes, I'll just go with my gut feeling on some (no can mean hated or merely felt meh about it, yes would be liked or loved it):

Rose - No
The End of the World - No
Aliens of London/World War Three - No
The Long Game - No
Boom Town - No
Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways - No
The Christmas Invasion - No
New Earth - No
Tooth and Claw - No
Love and Monsters - No
Army of Ghosts/Doomsday - No
The Runaway Bride - Haven't seen it
Smith and Jones - Yes
Gridlock - Yes
Utopia - Yes
The Sound of Drums - Yes
Last of the Time Lords - No
Voyage of the Damned - Haven't seen it
Partners in Crime - No
Midnight - Yes
Turn Left - No
The Stolen Earth/Journey's End - No
The Next Doctor - Haven't seen it
Planet of the Dead - No
The Waters of Mars - No
The End of Time – No

 

[Thestral]

Jokes are supposed to be funny. That was not; it was simply disgusting.

No, it was funny.

Nah, not funny. Also not disgusting or worth getting in a snit about though - too bland for that.

 

[tomalak301]

Coming in, I see this thread as another opportunity for Bones to bash Davies and didn't really want to post anything in it. Then I started following it and following it and it became infectious so might as well give some 2 cents, for what it's worth.

Rose - Yes
The End of the World - Yes
Aliens of London/World War Three - No
The Long Game - No
Boom Town - Yes (I actually liked this episode a lot)
Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways - Yes
The Christmas Invasion - Yes
New Earth - No
Tooth and Claw - No
Love and Monsters - No
Army of Ghosts/Doomsday - Yes
The Runaway Bride - Yes
Smith and Jones - Yes
Gridlock - Yes
Utopia - Yes
The Sound of Drums - Yes
Last of the Time Lords - No
Voyage of the Damned - Yes
Partners in Crime - Yes
Midnight - Yes
Turn Left - Yes
The Stolen Earth/Journey's End - Yes
The Next Doctor - Yes
Planet of the Dead - Yes
The Waters of Mars - Yes
The End of Time - Yes, even though I found it confusing

Overall, I'm a fan of the show and because I never watched any of the classic series, the new stuff made me a fan. I think that's even more of an accomplishment than individual episodes, and even in those episodes where I said no, there were some redeeming qualities.