Doctor Who Series 8; The time of the man that stops the monsters (v2)

[polishgenius]

Nowhere in any of those photos does his hair even approach anything like medium-ish, let alone long. It is minutely longer in some than others, but most of the time the difference can be accounted for by the way he's combed it.

Apart from anything else, the series itself takes place over more than enough time for his hair length changing to be totally normal.

[Jon's Queen Consort]

Nowhere in any of those photos does his hair even approach anything like medium-ish, let alone long. It is minutely longer in some than others, but most of the time the difference can be accounted for by the way he's combed it.

Apart from anything else, the series itself takes place over more than enough time for his hair length changing to be totally normal.

That is what I thought too. But at the Flatline he had two different hairs and it was clearly shorter than minutes before in the same ep. That is why I was thinking if it was something more there. Also his hair is considerably shorter at Deep Breath, which was moments (?) after his regeneration.

[protar]

That is what I thought too. But at the Flatline he had two different hairs and it was clearly shorter than minutes before in the same ep. That is why I was thinking if it was something more there. Also his hair is considerably shorter at Deep Breath, which was moments (?) after his regeneration.

Well that example can be accounted for pretty easily as just as slight error due to the gap in producing the two episodes. It's really just differently combed - sometimes his hair is flattened, sometimes it's a bit messier.

[mormont]

I think it's a sign that the episodes were not necessarily filmed in strict broadcast order. And that Peter Capaldi has hair that grows.

[Chaircat Meow]

Tonight's is going to be shit.

[Jon's Queen Consort]

Well that example can be accounted for pretty easily as just as slight error due to the gap in producing the two episodes. It's really just differently combed - sometimes his hair is flattened, sometimes it's a bit messier.

I think that after the jacket on and no jacket of the Flesh and Stone, I am looking for clues. :dunno:

[mormont]

Well.

Some of that was predictable (and predicted), some... less so.

But the great thing is, the shape of the series arc is actually becoming clear and I think it's pretty decent. I mean, we knew it was the cybermen, and of course the thing that traditionally is associated with the cybermen is that they're great soldiers because they have removed human emotion. Hence, all the stuff about soldiers, leading up to Danny being faced with the choice to reject his emotions (which he won't do, of course).

It all works pretty well. I'm even prepared to forgive the dream-sequence fake-out.

[Chaircat Meow]

the thing that traditionally is associated with the cybermen is that they're great soldiers because they have removed human emotion. Hence, all the stuff about soldiers, leading up to Danny being faced with the choice to reject his emotions (which he won't do, of course).

It all works pretty well. I'm even prepared to forgive the dream-sequence fake-out.

I didn't know the cybermen had any connection with soldiers at all, or that they were great at anything.

What they were good at was providing backing for Kevin Stoney and George Pastell and not much else.

[dog-days]

Found the Twelve's "Let's go look for an afterlife" decision a bit sudden and too nakedly plot-motivated. Especially with him being the snarliest and most skeptical of recent doctors.

Apart from that, it was a better episode than last weeks, and made me laugh quite a few times for the right reasons.

Still, I thought the cybermen need a proper makeover - they were okay viewed individually in the tanks, but the shot of them en masse in London was too ludicrous even for this show. I once had a toy robot that ran on vegetable oil which looked fiercer than them. They were about as scary as a teddy bears' picnic.

Would have preferred a new villain rather than the Master.

[Maltaran]

So the Cyberman in the room with Clara - that's going to be Danny, right?

[mormont]

I didn't know the cybermen had any connection with soldiers at all, or that they were great at anything.

... so, um, you don't think cybermen are soldiers?

At this point, not sure what to tell you. That's kind of like saying Daleks aren't soldiers. I mean, when you have units of organisation literally called legions, that's sort of a giveaway.

http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Cyber_Legion

So the Cyberman in the room with Clara - that's going to be Danny, right?

It's identified as the doctor who founded the place, Skar-something.

[Seli]

So the Cyberman in the room with Clara - that's going to be Danny, right?

Unlikely, one the Cybermanbody was named, two Danny still had to remove his emotions, three Danny will have to become a Dalek for symmetries sake :P

[Chaircat Meow]

... so, um, you don't think cybermen are soldiers?

At this point, not sure what to tell you. That's kind of like saying Daleks aren't soldiers. I mean, when you have units of organisation literally called legions, that's sort of a giveaway.

http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Cyber_Legion

Well being space soldiers isn't intrinsic to their character is it? That's the sontarans. The cybermen were survivors without emotion and devoted to logic. Can't remember an episode where they went on about being soldiers, but then I haven't seen them all. Their real thing used to be body horror, but I suppose they've scaled that back now.

edit: On the episode: I enjoyed it. Much better than I was expecting.

[polishgenius]

Somehow that managed to be surprising even though it was predicted after the first episode.

It's a shame they put the Cybermen in the trailers. The reveal would have been much better without, though I think I'd have cottoned on with the double doors anyway.

[Stannis Eats No Peaches]

I thought that was pretty good, but I'm a little confused about Missy's "the dead outnumber the living" line. Of course they do, but obviously most people end up buried or cremated, not turned into Cybermen. Do we even know how many Cybermen were in the mausoleum?

I've never really liked Cybermen as villains. They look far too silly and move far too slowly for me to consider them threatening, let alone scary.

It's a shame they put the Cybermen in the trailers. The reveal would have been much better without, though I think I'd have cottoned on with the double doors anyway.

:idea: Eh?

[polishgenius]

:idea: Eh?

The symbol of the company is the shape of the eye of a cyberman. At one point the Doctor goes 'I'm missing something obvious', then walks through a double door which closes to reveal the two eyes, complete with musical sting.

[Stannis Eats No Peaches]

The symbol of the company is the shape of the eye of a cyberman. At one point the Doctor goes 'I'm missing something obvious', then walks through a double door which closes to reveal the two eyes, complete with musical sting.

Ohhh that explains it. I thought there was something significant about the symbol, I just didn't recognise it.

[protar]

I thought the symbol looked like the GUS symbol from Orient Express.

[williamjm]

I thought that was a good episode although how it'll be ultimately viewed will probably depend a bit on how good the concluding episode is (and it's fairly common for the first part to be the best part of Dr Who two-parters).

I'm curious what Clara's initial conversation was going to be about before it was interrupted. We never found out what the bad thing is she was going to tell Danny or why she had all those post-it notes referencing her adventures with the Doctor. Some of the conversation seemed to end up being very apt considering Danny was about to die, if she hadn't been wearing the same dress she had on when she ran to the scene of the accident I might have wondered if this was a future-(i.e. from after the events of the episode in terms of her own timestream) Clara trying to say goodbye to Danny.

I'm guessing Danny's accident may well have been arranged by Missy as she tried to lure the Doctor to come to her?

I was wondering from the previews how the volcano scene was going to come about and I think the way it did made worked better than it might have done although it is cheapened a bit by the 'it's all a dream' plot point. I can somewhat understand what Clara was doing even though it is completely irrational and she even knows how irrational it is because she would be desperate in that situation. It also makes sense that the Doctor wouldn't be fooled by her attempts to trick him. I think there's a couple of bits of dialogue there that do sum up Capaldi's Doctor, first the cold and impatient 'And...?' after Clara tells him Danny is dead and then later saying that of course he'll help her even though she tried to betray him.

I thought that was pretty good, but I'm a little confused about Missy's "the dead outnumber the living" line. Of course they do, but obviously most people end up buried or cremated, not turned into Cybermen. Do we even know how many Cybermen were in the mausoleum?

I'm assuming that there were other mausoleums. It also appears that Missy's being doing her resurrection for a long time since we first saw her in the Victorian era season opener. I'm still not sure it really makes sense, but by the standards of some of the plot points we've been asked to accept recently it's comparatively plausible.

Found the Twelve's "Let's go look for an afterlife" decision a bit sudden and too nakedly plot-motivated. Especially with him being the snarliest and most skeptical of recent doctors.

This being the Doctor it's always possible he might know more than he's been letting on so it might not be entirely coincidental that this is the first time he's tried to do that.

[sj4iy]

Well, damn. Consider my mind blown. And the big reveal at the end- I can't believe I didn't pick up on that before with the name "Missy" given to us so early. Can't wait until next week.