polishgenius Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 I thought it was alright, but would probably have enjoyed it more if Fear Her didn't exist. Although not having Fear Her to compare it to might have made me think less of this one, who knows.Anyway, it was for the most part nicely creepy but the ending was dreadful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazydog7 Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Anything Doctor Who is better then most anything you're likely to get but I just can't stand the show when it is creepy for the sake of being creepy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jojen Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 I'm a latecomer to Doctor Who. I used to think of it as that weirdo British show. At the time, I think my only real exposure to British television was Benny Hill, so you'll understand my reluctance. That changed last year when I caught a few episodes with David Tennant. Now I'm hooked. It's a lot better than I expected. I like Matt Smith's portrayal of the latest Doctor. I still think it's pretty out there sometimes, and the retro feel to the technology and many of the aliens I often find jarring. I mean, the Daleks might be the Biggest Baddies but they just look ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alytha Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 I thought the episode was creepy, but a bit pointless. And I thought the kid was pretty horrible. Also, the issue of that family raiing an alien cuckoo baby wasn't really raised. What's it going to turn into when it grows up? The ending was a bit too easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon AS Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 And I thought the kid was pretty horrible. I thought he conveyed being scared pretty well. Sadly, that's all he got to do. Having a frightened child at the centre of an entire Doctor Who episode seems pretty redundant, too, given that that's a large part of the target audience.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormont Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I thought the episode was creepy, but a bit pointless. And I thought the kid was pretty horrible. Also, the issue of that family raiing an alien cuckoo baby wasn't really raised. What's it going to turn into when it grows up? The ending was a bit too easy. I don't know that it's fair to say it 'wasn't really raised' - the crucial bit was that the father loved his son even though he was an alien cuckoo, and that acceptance is what enabled the child to overcome his fears. So it was sort of a key point. You're right that the issue of 'what happens when he grows up' wasn't addressed, but that was maybe left in case they wanted to come back for another episode. Overall it seemed to me to be a deliberate attempt to take a break from the overarching plot with a self-contained one-off - probably a good idea given the plot-heavy episode that preceded it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guag Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Sorry to go back to the previous episode ("Let's kill Hitler"), but I have a burning question. As the Doctor lays dying, he asks River to give a message to, errr, River for him. River at this point being still Mels, and believing that this "River" is someone else, probably a friend of the Doctor, probably a woman, and probably something more than a friend. The Doctor whispers something to her ear, and she says "I'm sure she knows". So, this secret, could it be anything other than: "Tell her I love her." - or - "Tell her my real name is..." Could it be something else? And if not, which of the two would make more sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning Lord Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Those wooden people were creepy as hell. But something out of character: since when did the Doctor hesitate to confront monsters? Even if it was just concern for the kid, he's still not really ever paused before leaping into the fray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted September 7, 2011 Author Share Posted September 7, 2011 Those wooden people were creepy as hell. But something out of character: since when did the Doctor hesitate to confront monsters? Even if it was just concern for the kid, he's still not really ever paused before leaping into the fray. The Doctor tends to want to gain intelligence and know what's going on before jumping into the fray. In this case, he had next to zero information to go with, so showed a rare (but certainly not unprecedented) display of caution before tackling the situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning Lord Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 The Doctor tends to want to gain intelligence and know what's going on before jumping into the fray. In this case, he had next to zero information to go with, so showed a rare (but certainly not unprecedented) display of caution before tackling the situation.I feel like there are plenty of times he just gathers intelligence as he goes. He's always had this kind of cavalier attitude. Especially when kids are involved. I might have this wrong, since I don't know all the species that are re-treads of the previous incarnation of the program (I know Daleks, Cybermen and Sontarans have all made appearances before, as has the Master). So maybe it only seems that way to me because he already knows about the involved species. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Toblerone Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 It was also the kid's fear telepathically affecting the Doctor, which was the point of the scene with the Dad when he goes "We should open the wardrobe - No! are we crazy, we can't open the Wardrobe! - That's it we have to open the wardrobe!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning Lord Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 It was also the kid's fear telepathically affecting the Doctor, which was the point of the scene with the Dad when he goes "We should open the wardrobe - No! are we crazy, we can't open the Wardrobe! - That's it we have to open the wardrobe!"The kids had telepathy? I missed that. I knew there was a perception filter, but didn't know it was telepathy. (I was watching at work, I get distracted at times) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 The kids had telepathy? I missed that. I knew there was a perception filter, but didn't know it was telepathy. (I was watching at work, I get distracted at times) Does anyone else think that the 'perception filter' plot device is getting a bit overused in recent seasons? It's a perfectly good plot device, but I think it's been used in at least 5 episodes in the last season and a half which seems a bit excessive (and that's before counting all the other plot devices about things not being as they seem). It does almost feel like perception filters are the new Daleks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alytha Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Not counting Daleks with perception filters ;) They are a very convenient plot device...that easily leads to overuse. I hope this season's finale will finally shed some light on last year's season finale ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 I hope this season's finale will finally shed some light on last year's season finale ;) It would be nice if they explained who was trying to blow up the Tardis (and possibly the Universe, although that may have been an unintended consequence) at some point. I suspect any answers we get will just lead to more questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Yeah, the perception filter is the new sonic screwdriver. It's just an excuse for what would otherwise be plot-induced stupidity. Moffat claims this season will answer all the lingering questions to allow next season to feature more standalone storytelling, but we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted September 8, 2011 Author Share Posted September 8, 2011 We can but hope. In the entire 26-season, 700+ episode history of the original Doctor Who, they had a grand total of two seasons that had season-spanning arc plots (Season 16: 'The Key to Time' and Season 23: 'The Trial of a Time Lord', though Season 8 with the Master turning up in every episode before finally being captured at the end is arguable). Since Who returned in 2005 we've had six on the trot, seven if you count the final Tennant TV movies. I think they've pushed the idea as far as they can for now. Dropping it for a while and going back to stand-alone adventures with between-adventure character development would be a very, very welcome move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felice Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 It's pushing it to describe the RTD era keyword-of-the-season as an arc, though. Delete all references to Bad Wolf, Torchwood, Saxon, or missing bees before the season finales, and none of the episodes would be harmed in the slightest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormont Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 We can but hope. In the entire 26-season, 700+ episode history of the original Doctor Who, they had a grand total of two seasons that had season-spanning arc plots (Season 16: 'The Key to Time' and Season 23: 'The Trial of a Time Lord', though Season 8 with the Master turning up in every episode before finally being captured at the end is arguable). Since Who returned in 2005 we've had six on the trot, seven if you count the final Tennant TV movies. I think they've pushed the idea as far as they can for now. Dropping it for a while and going back to stand-alone adventures with between-adventure character development would be a very, very welcome move. That's an apples-and-oranges comparison, though. In all those prior series, the standard season featured several stories told in consecutive serials of three to six half-hour episodes, rather different from the present format. (Which also means that the original Who didn't exactly specialise in 'standalones'.) The new series has always had season-long plot arcs. There's certainly an argument about whether they're becoming too intrusive, mind you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moester Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 I'm very easily scared so the first 30 mins were fine. The dolls were very creepy but the denouement was a bit lame. It's still Blink and The Empty Child as the scariest DW episodes for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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