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Post by tuigirl on May 22, 2019 7:20:20 GMT
This reminds me of a bit of a niggle I had with Doctor Who for a while now... we never really get to see him during down-time. Remember some of the Star Trek episodes they did between adventures when you saw the lower decks or Picard on holiday or things like that? I would happily listen to an hour of the 8th Doctor and Liv bickering about cleanup duties and getting the books back in order... I think that may be where some of the shorter stories excel. The Doctor's Coat, from the Short Trips, is about Sixie finding out what's happened to his favourite bit of apparel. Nothing particularly worldshattering, but it says something about his Doctor when he starts to consider why he cares so much about it. Relative Dimensions from the EDAs skirts that from memory with the intent for a quiet Christmas with Eight, Lucie, Alex and Susan.The little drabbles in fanfiction excel at those moments of charm. There's the wonderful In Alien Soil, which I've never forgotten which is essentially the Doctor and Peri chatting about alien flora. Spying on Schoolteachers is a missing scene, of sorts, from Marco Polo with Susan and Ping Cho discussing Ian and Barbara. And this is one of the reasons Relative Dimensions is one of my favorite EDAs (yes, I have a bit of an ambivalent relationship with the EDAs since I am not the biggest fan of Lucie). I just like the slower start and I do not need a story about the end of the world all the time, I appreciate the smaller, more intimate stories, too.
Come to think of it, many of my favorite BF stories (or the above mentioned Star Trek stories) are like this. "Asking for a friend" or the very recent 10th Doctor story "No Place" also fall into that category, at least for me. And it works beautifully.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2019 10:04:43 GMT
I think that may be where some of the shorter stories excel. The Doctor's Coat, from the Short Trips, is about Sixie finding out what's happened to his favourite bit of apparel. Nothing particularly worldshattering, but it says something about his Doctor when he starts to consider why he cares so much about it. Relative Dimensions from the EDAs skirts that from memory with the intent for a quiet Christmas with Eight, Lucie, Alex and Susan.The little drabbles in fanfiction excel at those moments of charm. There's the wonderful In Alien Soil, which I've never forgotten which is essentially the Doctor and Peri chatting about alien flora. Spying on Schoolteachers is a missing scene, of sorts, from Marco Polo with Susan and Ping Cho discussing Ian and Barbara. And this is one of the reasons Relative Dimensions is one of my favorite EDAs (yes, I have a bit of an ambivalent relationship with the EDAs since I am not the biggest fan of Lucie). I just like the slower start and I do not need a story about the end of the world all the time, I appreciate the smaller, more intimate stories, too.
Come to think of it, many of my favorite BF stories (or the above mentioned Star Trek stories) are like this. "Asking for a friend" or the very recent 10th Doctor story "No Place" also fall into that category, at least for me. And it works beautifully.
It brings up an interesting point about padding. Padding, by its simplest definition, are scenes that exist purely to extend the runtime of a story without moving beyond the last plot point. (The Doctor and his companion attempt to escape their confinement and fail.) All well and good, but what if a plot point relies upon the rapport developed between characters over the course of the story? (The Doctor and his companion attempt to escape confinement and bond over their failure). Suddenly, what originally could be classified as fluffy padding is now solid plotting. The distinction becomes rather murky. Character moments are very similar, I think. Very tricky to balance, but enormously rewarding if you can ( The Invention of Death has a beautiful moment built around a campfire night). People tend to respond very well to even the implication that characters have lives outside the day-to-day crises. Having a moment or an extended period of time where you can show it without hurting the story is one better.
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Post by tuigirl on May 22, 2019 18:05:22 GMT
And this is one of the reasons Relative Dimensions is one of my favorite EDAs (yes, I have a bit of an ambivalent relationship with the EDAs since I am not the biggest fan of Lucie). I just like the slower start and I do not need a story about the end of the world all the time, I appreciate the smaller, more intimate stories, too.
Come to think of it, many of my favorite BF stories (or the above mentioned Star Trek stories) are like this. "Asking for a friend" or the very recent 10th Doctor story "No Place" also fall into that category, at least for me. And it works beautifully.
It brings up an interesting point about padding. Padding, by its simplest definition, are scenes that exist purely to extend the runtime of a story without moving beyond the last plot point. (The Doctor and his companion attempt to escape their confinement and fail.) All well and good, but what if a plot point relies upon the rapport developed between characters over the course of the story? (The Doctor and his companion attempt to escape confinement and bond over their failure). Suddenly, what originally could be classified as fluffy padding is now solid plotting. The distinction becomes rather murky. Character moments are very similar, I think. Very tricky to balance, but enormously rewarding if you can ( The Invention of Death has a beautiful moment built around a campfire night). People tend to respond very well to even the implication that characters have lives outside the day-to-day crises. Having a moment or an extended period of time where you can show it without hurting the story is one better. I agree, that is exactly it. There is a difference between needless padding and the juicy personal character moments and showing the personal life.
I absolutely love and adore the Star Trek episode where Picards goes home to meet his brother after he got abducted by the Borg. I cry every time. There are no flashy battles or CGI-fests or scary aliens or a world-threatening plot- and still it is one of the most emotional, deep, engaging stories in TNG.
You just need something like that on occasion.
I feel like this has been missing a little bit from many of the recent Doctor Who releases and one of the reasons I really enjoyed the Benny stories with the Unbound Doctor.
Of course I really like the big blockbuster releases, too- I am looking forward to Ravenous 4 and the 8th Doctor going up against the Masters. However, I would also enjoy a small-scale story of him and his team letting their hair down, this time without demons trying to take over the place.
I do not really need big explosions all the time. As you said above, sometimes a campfire is enough.
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2019 2:48:27 GMT
It brings up an interesting point about padding. Padding, by its simplest definition, are scenes that exist purely to extend the runtime of a story without moving beyond the last plot point. (The Doctor and his companion attempt to escape their confinement and fail.) All well and good, but what if a plot point relies upon the rapport developed between characters over the course of the story? (The Doctor and his companion attempt to escape confinement and bond over their failure). Suddenly, what originally could be classified as fluffy padding is now solid plotting. The distinction becomes rather murky. Character moments are very similar, I think. Very tricky to balance, but enormously rewarding if you can ( The Invention of Death has a beautiful moment built around a campfire night). People tend to respond very well to even the implication that characters have lives outside the day-to-day crises. Having a moment or an extended period of time where you can show it without hurting the story is one better. I agree, that is exactly it. There is a difference between needless padding and the juicy personal character moments and showing the personal life.
I absolutely love and adore the Star Trek episode where Picards goes home to meet his brother after he got abducted by the Borg. I cry every time. There are no flashy battles or CGI-fests or scary aliens or a world-threatening plot- and still it is one of the most emotional, deep, engaging stories in TNG.
You just need something like that on occasion.
I feel like this has been missing a little bit from many of the recent Doctor Who releases and one of the reasons I really enjoyed the Benny stories with the Unbound Doctor.
Of course I really like the big blockbuster releases, too- I am looking forward to Ravenous 4 and the 8th Doctor going up against the Masters. However, I would also enjoy a small-scale story of him and his team letting their hair down, this time without demons trying to take over the place.
I do not really need big explosions all the time. As you said above, sometimes a campfire is enough.
Ah, that was the very interesting thing about "Family". Picard's assimilation by the Borg had some lasting consequences for his psyche, but as the ship's captain, there's a vulnerability we need to see that his crew cannot. Otherwise, they'd lose confidence, so the writers took the opportunity to put him in an environment with his shields down. It hurt him and unless it was sorted, quickly, it was going to break him. The stakes there are for whether or not he continues his captaincy and it's built solely around our attachment to the character. It's some gorgeous writing. Just a nice, quiet moment where we get to discover the man beyond the uniform. I think one of the things that can be forgotten -- and it's an easy mistake to make (I've done it) -- is that we start off in the Eye of Orion, but only ever start. We trick ourselves into thinking that downtime can only happen at the very beginning or end of an adventure, but in reality, these little moments can be sprinkled throughout a story wherever needs be. There's a reason why we remember the Doctor and Victoria discussing her father in The Tomb of the Cybermen. For plotting, it doesn't really serve any purpose. For character, we wouldn't do without it. It emphasises that remarkably simple, yet remarkably complicated touch of humanity.
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Post by Superium on Jun 3, 2019 14:52:19 GMT
I'd be perfectly content if the Weeping Angels never had another story on TV.
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Post by aemiliapaula on Jun 3, 2019 23:01:09 GMT
They're both great, but I prefer the Sarah Jane with the 3rd doctor to the one with the 4th, she seems more capable and independent.
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Post by Superium on Jun 4, 2019 0:05:23 GMT
They're both great, but I prefer the Sarah Jane with the 3rd doctor to the one with the 4th, she seems more capable and independent. Same here. Sarah Jane is better with 3.
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Post by number13 on Jun 4, 2019 0:09:02 GMT
They're both great, but I prefer the Sarah Jane with the 3rd doctor to the one with the 4th, she seems more capable and independent. I'd go further and say 'The Time Warrior' and 'Invasion of the Dinosaurs' are possibly the best storylines she was ever given. Perhaps the difference is that in Season 11 Sarah was very much a journalist who got tangled up with the Doctor and UNIT. Three of the adventures take place or begin on Earth and involve her professionally, at least at the start of each story. As does 'Robot' where Sarah uses her professional skills to explore the 'Thinktank' and Ms. Winter's schemes. Even when the Doctor took her travelling to Peladon and Exxilon she (and he) didn't intend to be away long; he was still UNIT's semi-fulltime Scientific Advisor and (as shown in 'Planet of the Spiders) he thought of Earth+UNIT as 'home' at that time.
No doubt Sarah was back in her own house between stories, writing amazing 'copy' and wondering if anyone would believe a word of it! In some ways she was the first "New Series" companion with her own life on Earth overlapping the Doctor's, it's just that unlike Clara we didn't see Sarah's own life between the adventures, but she must have had one.
Once the Doctor returned full time to his wanderings at the end of 'Robot', Sarah became a classic Companion - one of the very best ever - but inevitably lost some of her independence with mostly being away from Earth. I like 'Terror of the Zygons' where, back on home ground, she picks up the notepad and pen again and goes investigating!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2019 0:38:51 GMT
They're both great, but I prefer the Sarah Jane with the 3rd doctor to the one with the 4th, she seems more capable and independent. I'd go further and say 'The Time Warrior' and 'Invasion of the Dinosaurs' are possibly the best storylines she was ever given. Perhaps the difference is that in Season 11 Sarah was very much a journalist who got tangled up with the Doctor and UNIT. Three of the adventures take place or begin on Earth and involve her professionally, at least at the start of each story. As does 'Robot' where Sarah uses her professional skills to explore the 'Thinktank' and Ms. Winter's schemes. Even when the Doctor took her travelling to Peladon and Exxilon she (and he) didn't intend to be away long; he was still UNIT's semi-fulltime Scientific Advisor and (as shown in 'Planet of the Spiders) he thought of Earth+UNIT as 'home' at that time.
No doubt Sarah was back in her own house between stories, writing amazing 'copy' and wondering if anyone would believe a word of it! In some ways she was the first "New Series" companion with her own life on Earth overlapping the Doctor's, it's just that unlike Clara we didn't see Sarah's own life between the adventures, but she must have had one.
Once the Doctor returned full time to his wanderings at the end of 'Robot', Sarah became a classic Companion - one of the very best ever - but inevitably lost some of her independence with mostly being away from Earth. I like 'Terror of the Zygons' where, back on home ground, she picks up the notepad and pen again and goes investigating!
I wonder if Sarah ever considered publishing them as pulp novels? Yeah, Season 11's curious because after a protracted period of spatiotemporal freedom with Jo, the Doctor's come home and settled in. Almost as though he missed it. If he'd not regenerated, I wonder if the Third Doctor would've been eventually been one to take the TARDIS back home to Earth at the end of each adventure? Propping up his feet, hot cup of cocoa and a sandwich in UNIT HQ. It's very Holmesian as an idea. The consulting time traveller. I suspect that Sarah helped push him out of the nest and back into being a full-time adventurer.
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Post by Superium on Jun 4, 2019 2:59:30 GMT
Unless the BBC tells us that these will be the definitive versions (which I don't think they would), I'd be perfectly fine if they decide to do colourisations of 60s stories. With that said, I do know that some stories wouldn't be enhanced with it. Case in point: The Web of Fear.
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
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Post by lidar2 on Jun 13, 2019 8:45:05 GMT
Odd/unusual theory
Dr who And The Silurians is actually an allegory of the situation in Northern Ireland, which was very topical in 1969 when it was written. The analogy is not perfect and we shouldn't push it too far by trying to equate the young Silurian with, for instance, Bernadette Devlin - the allegory is more at the level of the general situation. Below is not intended not be a comprehensive history of NI, but it does try to be even-handed and show that there were two sides to every story.
Declaration of interest first - I am from NI and am possibly more likely to be seeing allegories that aren't there but, by the same token, if the allegory is there then I am possibly more likely to spot it.
1. Hulke liked his politics and with the outbreak of the troubles in 1969 NI was very topical.
2. Both situations (real life and fictional) have 2 groups in conflict over territory (planet earth and Northern Ireland). Both groups feel they are in the right and the territory is "theirs". Silurians/Nationalists essentially feel they were here first, the other group only came along later, Humans/Protestants feel they've been here so long and been in charge that any prior claim the others may have had is long gone. I assume everyone knows the details of the Silurians but in NI Protestants from England/Scotland moved to North East Ireland in the 17 Century as part of a deliberate British government policy to pacify what had been the most rebellious part of Ireland. The Irish perception was of land "stolen" that was rightfully theirs, the other side of the coin is the Flight of the Earls had left a vacuum in the political/social structure that a responsible government had to react to in some way. Also worth noting is that there was no plantation in Down and Antrim, which are still today the 2 most Protestant counties, it was all natural migration from Scotland. So whatever the rights and wrongs of the 17th Century the people living in 1969 were not personally responsible for the situation they found themselves in, although they were responsible for how they tried to solve it. Just like the humans and Silurians on TV.
3. From a GB mainland perspective prior to 1969 Lloyd George had solved the Irish Question by partition and it had by and large worked. The Catholic minority in NI appeared to have accepted their lot and to have gone to sleep politically. That was not necessarily the case, but from the point of view of people in England/Scotland/Wales, the Irish Question had disappeared completely off the radar until, with the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s and the outbreak of violence, the Irish Nationalism/Republicanism "re-awoke" just like the Silurians.
4. Within both sides in the conflict (Silurian/Catholic and Human/Protestant) there are extremists who want conflict and see a military victory as the way forward and moderates who see peaceful compromise as the way forward. In the TV programme, the extremists effectively want victory by genocide - in fairness no one on either side on NI has advocated genocide, but there has to be some dramatic license in an action adventure TV show.
5. The Doctor and the Civil Servant Masters trying to sort things out are the level-headed establishment moderates, much like the role James Callaghan played as Home Secretary in 1969-70
6. When the local humans/Unionists can't cope with the situation the military is called in - just like British troops deployed in 1969.
7. In the novelisation Hulke makes the allegory more apparent as Major Barker's backstory involves time spent as a soldier in Northern Ireland
8. We can't read too much in to the TV story's resolution - at the time Hulke was writing the NI situation was only starting and was to continue for a further 30 years and any parallels between a 1969 TV programme and post-1969 events would be coincidental.
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Post by Superium on Jun 13, 2019 13:29:49 GMT
1. I'm not sure if it is unpopular, but from what I hear, I must be one of the few people who actually likes the cover art for BF's adaptation of The Highest Science.
2. I really don't like A Life of Crime's cover art. Easily one of my least favorites.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2019 9:30:36 GMT
Odd/unusual theory Dr who And The Silurians is actually an allegory of the situation in Northern Ireland, which was very topical in 1969 when it was written. The analogy is not perfect and we shouldn't push it too far by trying to equate the young Silurian with, for instance, Bernadette Devlin - the allegory is more at the level of the general situation. Below is not intended not be a comprehensive history of NI, but it does try to be even-handed and show that there were two sides to every story. Declaration of interest first - I am from NI and am possibly more likely to be seeing allegories that aren't there but, by the same token, if the allegory is there then I am possibly more likely to spot it. 1. Hulke liked his politics and with the outbreak of the troubles in 1969 NI was very topical. 2. Both situations (real life and fictional) have 2 groups in conflict over territory (planet earth and Northern Ireland). Both groups feel they are in the right and the territory is "theirs". Silurians/Nationalists essentially feel they were here first, the other group only came along later, Humans/Protestants feel they've been here so long and been in charge that any prior claim the others may have had is long gone. I assume everyone knows the details of the Silurians but in NI Protestants from England/Scotland moved to North East Ireland in the 17 Century as part of a deliberate British government policy to pacify what had been the most rebellious part of Ireland. The Irish perception was of land "stolen" that was rightfully theirs, the other side of the coin is the Flight of the Earls had left a vacuum in the political/social structure that a responsible government had to react to in some way. Also worth noting is that there was no plantation in Down and Antrim, which are still today the 2 most Protestant counties, it was all natural migration from Scotland. So whatever the rights and wrongs of the 17th Century the people living in 1969 were not personally responsible for the situation they found themselves in, although they were responsible for how they tried to solve it. Just like the humans and Silurians on TV. 3. From a GB mainland perspective prior to 1969 Lloyd George had solved the Irish Question by partition and it had by and large worked. The Catholic minority in NI appeared to have accepted their lot and to have gone to sleep politically. That was not necessarily the case, but from the point of view of people in England/Scotland/Wales, the Irish Question had disappeared completely off the radar until, with the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s and the outbreak of violence, the Irish Nationalism/Republicanism "re-awoke" just like the Silurians. 4. Within both sides in the conflict (Silurian/Catholic and Human/Protestant) there are extremists who want conflict and see a military victory as the way forward and moderates who see peaceful compromise as the way forward. In the TV programme, the extremists effectively want victory by genocide - in fairness no one on either side on NI has advocated genocide, but there has to be some dramatic license in an action adventure TV show. 5. The Doctor and the Civil Servant Masters trying to sort things out are the level-headed establishment moderates, much like the role James Callaghan played as Home Secretary in 1969-70 6. When the local humans/Unionists can't cope with the situation the military is called in - just like British troops deployed in 1969. 7. In the novelisation Hulke makes the allegory more apparent as Major Barker's backstory involves time spent as a soldier in Northern Ireland 8. We can't read too much in to the TV story's resolution - at the time Hulke was writing the NI situation was only starting and was to continue for a further 30 years and any parallels between a 1969 TV programme and post-1969 events would be coincidental. That's a fascinating reading of the story. Genuinely quite fascinating. I always took it as a stand-in for clashes between aboriginal and colonial settlers. It's curious how cultural backgrounds gently shift the emphasis of the allegory, quite invisible until someone points out a different view. Edit: Ooh, also... Not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I think if we go past the 101st century, we start encountering the effects of incarnations we definitely haven't met yet.
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Post by Superium on Jun 22, 2019 4:21:57 GMT
Let me just start off by saying that I am a Capaldi Era apologist/defender. I will defend the Capaldi Era when others won't. With that said, let's begin! 1. Series 8 is one of the best and most consistent seasons of the revival. I genuinely do not understand the hate for it. - It's easily the best season since RTD left.
2. Deep Breath is my favorite post-regeneration story in the revival. 3. The Capaldi Era has better writing than The Smith Era. I swear the amount of people I see saying "Capaldi sucks", "The show's gone downhill since 2013", and "Moffat ruined his doctor" infuriates me to no end. 4. Robot of Sherwood would not have worked NEARLY as well if it was an Eleventh Doctor story. The conflict between The Doctor and Robin Hood would not have been as strong as it was. 5. Most of Gatiss' best stories on TV were in the Capaldi Era. However, there are some negatives: 1. Series 9 is, far and away, Capaldi's weakest series. With the exception of Under The Lake/Before The Flood, Face The Raven, & Heaven Sent, most of the season is piss poor. 2. S8's Listen is only good because of Capaldi. The story is average at best. 3. As much as I love Capaldi's speeches, the Zygon Inversion speech gets far too much praise. 4. That scene in The Girl Who Died where 12 remembers why he chose his face was honestly a weak moment. 5. Were it not for Asylum of the Daleks, I'd call Magician's Apprentice / Witch's Familiar the weakest Dalek story of the revival. See anything you agree/disagree with? Let me know!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2019 6:17:02 GMT
Let me just start off by saying that I am a Capaldi Era apologist/defender. I will defend the Capaldi Era when others won't. With that said, let's begin! 1. Series 8 is one of the best and most consistent seasons of the revival. I genuinely do not understand the hate for it. - It's easily the best season since RTD left.
2. Deep Breath is my favorite post-regeneration story in the revival. 3. The Capaldi Era has better writing than The Smith Era. I swear the amount of people I see saying "Capaldi sucks", "The show's gone downhill since 2013", and "Moffat ruined his doctor" infuriate me to no end. 4. Robot of Sherwood would not have worked NEARLY as well if it was an Eleventh Doctor story. The conflict between The Doctor and Robin Hood would not have been as strong as it was. 5. Most of Gatiss' best stories on TV were in the Capaldi Era. However, there are some negatives: 1. Series 9 is, far and away, Capaldi's weakest series. With the exception of Under The Lake/Before The Flood, Face The Raven, & Heaven Sent, most of the season is piss poor. 2. S8's Listen is only good because of Capaldi. The story is average at best. 3. As much as I love Capaldi's speeches, the Zygon Inversion speech gets far too much praise. 4. That scene in The Girl Who Died where 12 remembers why he chose his face was honestly a weak moment. 5. Were it not for Asylum of the Daleks, I'd call Magician's Apprentice / Witch's Familiar the weakest Dalek story of the revival. See anything you agree/disagree with? Let me know! *waves* I'll throw my hat in: Series 8 is probably the most wildly experimental high-concept seasons of the show since Season 18 (Tom's last year) and I mean that as a compliment. It's really trying its best to find something that will stick, taking inspiration from Errol Flynn, Farscape, Hammer, Space: 1999, all sorts of stories. Where I struggled as a viewer was Twelve's personality and his dynamic with Clara. I felt we needed a confidant like Nardole, but didn't have him yet, so when Clara pushes the Doctor away, there's nowhere in the narrative for him to gain ground. We don't get to hear his side, bar Mummy on the Orient Express, and it got rather isolating. Series 9 feels pretty standard. A baseline. I'd recommend for educational purposes, it's quite interesting as a juxtaposition of classic and modern series storytelling. I enjoyed The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar, Heaven Sent is strong and I'd love to see the Trap Street idea from Face the Raven explored further, but the rest of the season didn't quite stick the landing for me. Typically, there are at least three stories going on in a classic serial, A, B and C-plots (with the guest cast receiving quite a bit of characterisation), but here it tended to feel a bit on the lean side. Series 10, they nailed it. The unapproachable Doctor gains a ward that understands him from a longtime perspective (Nardole) and a new travelling companion coming in with fresh eyes (Bill). Both challenging him in differing ways on differing levels, so we get to see what's within. Each episode felt like a chapter in a book, rolling from one to the next with ease. Some stores felt as though they could've used an extra ten minutes or so, but that speaks to me of just how much I was enjoying things. It all clicked right into place.
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Post by tuigirl on Jun 22, 2019 8:19:11 GMT
Let me just start off by saying that I am a Capaldi Era apologist/defender. I will defend the Capaldi Era when others won't. With that said, let's begin! 1. Series 8 is one of the best and most consistent seasons of the revival. I genuinely do not understand the hate for it. - It's easily the best season since RTD left.
2. Deep Breath is my favorite post-regeneration story in the revival. 3. The Capaldi Era has better writing than The Smith Era. I swear the amount of people I see saying "Capaldi sucks", "The show's gone downhill since 2013", and "Moffat ruined his doctor" infuriate me to no end. 4. Robot of Sherwood would not have worked NEARLY as well if it was an Eleventh Doctor story. The conflict between The Doctor and Robin Hood would not have been as strong as it was. 5. Most of Gatiss' best stories on TV were in the Capaldi Era. However, there are some negatives: 1. Series 9 is, far and away, Capaldi's weakest series. With the exception of Under The Lake/Before The Flood, Face The Raven, & Heaven Sent, most of the season is piss poor. 2. S8's Listen is only good because of Capaldi. The story is average at best. 3. As much as I love Capaldi's speeches, the Zygon Inversion speech gets far too much praise. 4. That scene in The Girl Who Died where 12 remembers why he chose his face was honestly a weak moment. 5. Were it not for Asylum of the Daleks, I'd call Magician's Apprentice / Witch's Familiar the weakest Dalek story of the revival. See anything you agree/disagree with? Let me know! *waves* I'll throw my hat in: Series 8 is probably the most wildly experimental high-concept seasons of the show since Season 18 (Tom's last year) and I mean that as a compliment. It's really trying its best to find something that will stick, taking inspiration from Errol Flynn, Farscape, Hammer, Space: 1999, all sorts of stories. Where I struggled as a viewer was Twelve's personality and his dynamic with Clara. I felt we needed a confidant like Nardole, but didn't have him yet, so when Clara pushes the Doctor away, there's nowhere in the narrative for him to gain ground. We don't get to hear his side, bar Mummy on the Orient Express, and it got rather isolating. Series 9 feels pretty standard. A baseline. I'd recommend for educational purposes, it's quite interesting as a juxtaposition of classic and modern series storytelling. I enjoyed The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar, Heaven Sent is strong and I'd love to see the Trap Street idea from Face the Raven explored further, but the rest of the season didn't quite stick the landing for me. Typically, there are at least three stories going on in a classic serial, A, B and C-plots (with the guest cast receiving quite a bit of characterisation), but here it tended to feel a bit on the lean side. Series 10, they nailed it. The unapproachable Doctor gains a ward that understands him from a longtime perspective (Nardole) and a new travelling companion coming in with fresh eyes (Bill). Both challenging him in differing ways on differing levels, so we get to see what's within. Each episode felt like a chapter in a book, rolling from one to the next with ease. Some stores felt as though they could've used an extra ten minutes or so, but that speaks to me of just how much I was enjoying things. It all clicked right into place. Mostly agree with what both of you write here. Capaldi is also my favorite TV Doctor.
And Series 10 is my favorite series of Doctor Who. Ever. Including all the Classic stuff I have seen so far. As you say, it all clicked right into place.
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Post by Superium on Jun 22, 2019 20:49:20 GMT
*waves* I'll throw my hat in: Series 8 is probably the most wildly experimental high-concept seasons of the show since Season 18 (Tom's last year) and I mean that as a compliment. It's really trying its best to find something that will stick, taking inspiration from Errol Flynn, Farscape, Hammer, Space: 1999, all sorts of stories. Where I struggled as a viewer was Twelve's personality and his dynamic with Clara. I felt we needed a confidant like Nardole, but didn't have him yet, so when Clara pushes the Doctor away, there's nowhere in the narrative for him to gain ground. We don't get to hear his side, bar Mummy on the Orient Express, and it got rather isolating. Series 9 feels pretty standard. A baseline. I'd recommend for educational purposes, it's quite interesting as a juxtaposition of classic and modern series storytelling. I enjoyed The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar, Heaven Sent is strong and I'd love to see the Trap Street idea from Face the Raven explored further, but the rest of the season didn't quite stick the landing for me. Typically, there are at least three stories going on in a classic serial, A, B and C-plots (with the guest cast receiving quite a bit of characterisation), but here it tended to feel a bit on the lean side. Series 10, they nailed it. The unapproachable Doctor gains a ward that understands him from a longtime perspective (Nardole) and a new travelling companion coming in with fresh eyes (Bill). Both challenging him in differing ways on differing levels, so we get to see what's within. Each episode felt like a chapter in a book, rolling from one to the next with ease. Some stores felt as though they could've used an extra ten minutes or so, but that speaks to me of just how much I was enjoying things. It all clicked right into place. Mostly agree with what both of you write here. Capaldi is also my favorite TV Doctor.
And Series 10 is my favorite series of Doctor Who. Ever. Including all the Classic stuff I have seen so far. As you say, it all clicked right into place.
Capaldi's my favorite modern doctor and third favorite overall.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2019 1:26:12 GMT
Mostly agree with what both of you write here. Capaldi is also my favorite TV Doctor. And Series 10 is my favorite series of Doctor Who. Ever. Including all the Classic stuff I have seen so far. As you say, it all clicked right into place.
Capaldi's my favorite modern doctor and third favorite overall. Oh, he's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. A fine actor (I've a great fondness for his Richelieu in The Musketeers) and a fine Doctor. *waves* I'll throw my hat in: Series 8 is probably the most wildly experimental high-concept seasons of the show since Season 18 (Tom's last year) and I mean that as a compliment. It's really trying its best to find something that will stick, taking inspiration from Errol Flynn, Farscape, Hammer, Space: 1999, all sorts of stories. Where I struggled as a viewer was Twelve's personality and his dynamic with Clara. I felt we needed a confidant like Nardole, but didn't have him yet, so when Clara pushes the Doctor away, there's nowhere in the narrative for him to gain ground. We don't get to hear his side, bar Mummy on the Orient Express, and it got rather isolating. Series 9 feels pretty standard. A baseline. I'd recommend for educational purposes, it's quite interesting as a juxtaposition of classic and modern series storytelling. I enjoyed The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar, Heaven Sent is strong and I'd love to see the Trap Street idea from Face the Raven explored further, but the rest of the season didn't quite stick the landing for me. Typically, there are at least three stories going on in a classic serial, A, B and C-plots (with the guest cast receiving quite a bit of characterisation), but here it tended to feel a bit on the lean side. Series 10, they nailed it. The unapproachable Doctor gains a ward that understands him from a longtime perspective (Nardole) and a new travelling companion coming in with fresh eyes (Bill). Both challenging him in differing ways on differing levels, so we get to see what's within. Each episode felt like a chapter in a book, rolling from one to the next with ease. Some stores felt as though they could've used an extra ten minutes or so, but that speaks to me of just how much I was enjoying things. It all clicked right into place. Mostly agree with what both of you write here. Capaldi is also my favorite TV Doctor. And Series 10 is my favorite series of Doctor Who. Ever. Including all the Classic stuff I have seen so far. As you say, it all clicked right into place.
Cool! It's certainly my favourite of the modern series. Where do you disagree? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.
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Post by tuigirl on Jun 23, 2019 11:09:53 GMT
Capaldi's my favorite modern doctor and third favorite overall. Oh, he's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. A fine actor (I've a great fondness for his Richelieu in The Musketeers) and a fine Doctor. Mostly agree with what both of you write here. Capaldi is also my favorite TV Doctor. And Series 10 is my favorite series of Doctor Who. Ever. Including all the Classic stuff I have seen so far. As you say, it all clicked right into place.
Cool! It's certainly my favourite of the modern series. Where do you disagree? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. For some unfathomable reason, I have the impression that each series of New Who got better than the last (exception is series 11, but to be honest, I am not sure how they could have topped series 10). I agree that series 8 was experimental, but I think he got some great character development. I also do not see Clara as annoying as pretty much everyone (including my sister) did. I loved the little one-off pieces like the Caretaker and Robots and Mummy. The only time series 8 fell apart was in the very last episode. The built up was amazing, but that last episode left me completely underwhelmed. I think that Moffat was not happy with it, either, because he did exactly the same story again at the end of series 10, but then, he did everything right and it absolutely blew my mind. This is why I do not begrudge him the repetition.
I also do not agree that series 9 was standard... it was even better than series 8. Magicians Apprentice was great. And that guitar scene on the tank- one of my absolute favorite scenes in modern television. It is so completely out of place that it totally makes sense in a weird way. And I loved the Zygon speech, one of the things that make me cry every time. Very powerful. I also love the characterization of Osgood. The only thing I HATED with passion was the episode that shall not be named, you know, the one on Gallifrey. What were they even thinking? Although even that episode had an epic moment when the Doctor faces up to the gunship drawing a line in the sand.
I however agree with you that there is still more potential in the Trap Streets and of course we should find out one day who was behind the computer in Mummy.
I see some potential for Big Finish!
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Post by mark687 on Jun 23, 2019 11:27:29 GMT
Slightly controversial one
Apart from the Tennant Tate dynamic is Season 4 actually only average?
Regards
mark687
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