Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2018 22:07:53 GMT
Is it just me or is anyone else thinking that wasn't the finale? In that when the Beeb insisted on a seasonal episode that Chibnall planned 11 rather than 10+1? I liked it but it's no more a finale than any other episode (welcome to classic Who!) In fact this season felt more like Classic Who than anything else post 2005. Not really for me, sorry. I did feel this was the finale - the scale has been reduced all year so it felt like we weren't getting a big epic ending. Tim Shaw bookmarking it and Ryan and Graham cementing their bond really said "fin" to me! Though yeah, the notion of "Adventure done, smile, jump in TARDIS and leave" did seem very classic Who to me - no Titanics crashing, brides appearing kinda modern endings.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2018 22:08:29 GMT
It was so good, for so long, but then it just turned to crap. And the Doctor just leaves at the end- no scene with the companions, no emotional aftermath, nothing. A disappointment and a dreadful finale episode. I don't care if New Year 'acts as a finale' either. It isn't, this was, and it didn't deliver the goods.
|
|
|
Post by barnabaslives on Dec 10, 2018 2:51:33 GMT
I gave it 5 stars, I had a couple of niggles early in the episode but it really was pretty solid all the rest of the way through and I think Chibnall accomplished a lot here rather skillfully, including bringing back "Tim Shaw" and making him a force worthy of a season finale, and making it all look fantastic. I really liked The Doctor's memorable closing remarks and I think they made a fitting end to the story and the season.
Hopefully things between Ryan and Graham have gotten where they were trying to get to this whole season and Yaz will get more spotlight next season. I think Yaz' character been developed well enough in terms of deeds and what caliber of person she is, but aside from Demons I struggle to remember very many lines she's gotten the whole season, in contrast to the weekly heart-to-heart talk between Ryan and Graham. I try to think of Yaz as "the quiet type" which works okay but it does maybe feel like she's been a little excluded from the family dynamic and a little more bonding with Graham or The Doctor might have rounded things out a little?
It's really been a great season though, especially for looking back as little as it has, and I think I've especially enjoyed the quality of all three historicals. I think Chibnall's done a brilliant job proving it was a good idea to bring them back.
|
|
|
Post by number13 on Dec 10, 2018 2:57:26 GMT
"By the infinite teeth of the Sky-Demon, Mr. Fibuli, this 'Tim Shaw' creature has recreated my most brilliant scheme but without my clever reasons for doing it!!"
|
|
|
Post by barnabaslives on Dec 10, 2018 3:10:28 GMT
"By the infinite teeth of the Sky-Demon, Mr. Fibuli, this 'Tim Shaw' creature has recreated my most brilliant scheme but without my clever reasons for doing it!!"
Aye, but before we let loose the Polyphase Avatron on Mr. Chibnall, in his defense he'd have to think audiences of longer standing would appreciate the nod, rather than think we wouldn't notice
|
|
|
Post by number13 on Dec 10, 2018 3:38:21 GMT
"By the infinite teeth of the Sky-Demon, Mr. Fibuli, this 'Tim Shaw' creature has recreated my most brilliant scheme but without my clever reasons for doing it!!"
Aye, but before we let loose the Polyphase Avatron on Mr. Chibnall, in his defense he'd have to think audiences of longer standing would appreciate the nod, rather than think we wouldn't notice Oh of course! But I did hope the Ux would reel off the names of the caged planets and casually include 'Calufrax', or the Doctor would make an offhand comment about not liking this any better the second time she'd seen it done, or something, just for fun.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2018 4:49:10 GMT
Long ago, when the sky was young, God fell from the heavens and was bid wounded and weeping to the cradle of the faith...
Damn, that was good. The decision to bring back Tzim-Sha and round out Graham's arc was a really strong one, Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole playing their parts to perfection. I hope we get more alien worlds in the future because the production team seem to have hit their stride between this, Desolation and the Anti-Zone in It Takes You Away. There's a great sense of economy to the script, everything feels as though it has a place and is contributing to the greater whole. A sense of serious threat mixed in with a lot of genuine character growth. For the regulars and the supporting cast too. I rather liked the Ux, innocent idealists who fell afoul of a bad influence at just the wrong moment and the commander who's greatest initial asset is his amnesia. As to Tzim's scheme itself? Well, if you're going for inspiration, be inspired by the best. (As an aside: The Sniperbots that look like Geth... Did no one think to call them Aimbots or Triggerbots? )
"Our destiny is in the stars, so let's go and search for it."
It's been a really fun season. A bit less bombastic, a bit more methodical, but with a tonne of substance and bravery. From the Thirteenth Doctor herself to the reintroduction of the historical format to the arc about Graham's grief, it's a toybox brimming with wonderful possibilities. The wonderfully subversive It Takes You Away, the gutpunch of Demons of the Punjab, even the Terry Nation romp of The Ghost Monument... It feels good. Solid. Established. The next season looks as though it's going to be airing in 2020 and... I'm okay with the wait. If they can do this, but more so and with even greater confidence, this could end up being a phenomenal era.
"Travel hopefully, the universe will surprise you."
|
|
|
Post by J.A. Prentice on Dec 10, 2018 7:27:47 GMT
Well... That was an episode of Doctor Who. Things happened. Most of them also happened in The Pirate Planet, but Doctor Who's always stealing from something, usually a different episode of Doctor Who. But where was the wonderful fury that Tom Baker showed when faced with such an atrocity? Jodie Whittaker is given nothing more than a brief acknowledgment before she starts sonicing things. Why set up a planet that twists your mind when it never twists any of the character's minds? Why set up Tim Shaw's return as the Doctor's failure and then have the Doctor never address it? There was nothing particularly terrible about this episode, but there was nothing particularly anything about it. I'll stick with the show in the hopes of great one-offs like Demons, Witchfinders, and It Takes You Away, but I've given up on Chibnall as showrunner.
|
|
|
Post by Timelord007 on Dec 10, 2018 8:34:26 GMT
Great episode, loved Jodie in this & Bradley Walsh has been utterly amazing & i love how his character Graham & Ryan have bonded over the series.
Yaz was shortchanged though despite Gils excellent performances, the Tim Shaw arc came full circle but i don't think that's the last we seen of him & while some may think this isn't a epic finale it's not meant to be because that being saved for New Year Day & a Dalek episode that looks set to deliver something extra special.
4/5.
|
|
|
Post by shallacatop on Dec 10, 2018 9:12:21 GMT
I do think it could’ve done with an arc in the series to make Ranskoor Av Kolos a little more connected. A mention of the war in The Tsuranga Conundrum, the destroyed planets in Punjab and Witchfinders being a result of the Stenza.
It also rather feels like it was meant to be a prequel to The Ghost Monument. Desolation is a desolated planet, Ranskoor Av Kolos shows a planet that’s been ravaged by a war. Desolation has a weapons factory made by the Stenza and guarded by those Sniper Bots, Ranskoor Av Kolos has the Stenza super weapon and is guarded by the Sniper Bots. The TARDIS is deemed a religious artefact of sorts on Desolation, Ranskoor Av Kolos has s religious order who are familiar with dimensional engineering.
The Ux could’ve gone to Ranskoor (which is revealed to be Desolation) due to the TARDIS, believing it’s an artefact sent from their God. You’d still get Tim Shaw arriving and the Ux believing he’s their God. Tim Shaw could’ve used the power of the Ux and the damaged TARDIS in order to assist with the building of his super weapon, the combined forces also moving Desolation out of orbit.
It’s not a convoluted idea. It’s not something that requires any more knowledge than what the existing episode already provides. And yet it offers something more connected than the actual episode, due to its world building from established events. As it is, it’s rather a finale that would’ve seemed more appropriate halfway through the series, at least to me.
It would’ve changed my score from a 4/5 (8/10) to a 5/5 (9/10), anyway.
|
|
|
Post by Timelord007 on Dec 10, 2018 9:53:40 GMT
I do think it could’ve done with an arc in the series to make Ranskoor Av Kolos a little more connected. A mention of the war in The Tsuranga Conundrum, the destroyed planets in Punjab and Witchfinders being a result of the Stenza. It also rather feels like it was meant to be a prequel to The Ghost Monument. Desolation is a desolated planet, Ranskoor Av Kolos shows a planet that’s been ravaged by a war. Desolation has a weapons factory made by the Stenza and guarded by those Sniper Bots, Ranskoor Av Kolos has the Stenza super weapon and is guarded by the Sniper Bots. The TARDIS is deemed a religious artefact of sorts on Desolation, Ranskoor Av Kolos has s religious order who are familiar with dimensional engineering. The Ux could’ve gone to Ranskoor (which is revealed to be Desolation) due to the TARDIS, believing it’s an artefact sent from their God. You’d still get Tim Shaw arriving and the Ux believing he’s their God. Tim Shaw could’ve used the power of the Ux and the damaged TARDIS in order to assist with the building of his super weapon, the combined forces also moving Desolation out of orbit. It’s not a convoluted idea. It’s not something that requires any more knowledge than what the existing episode already provides. And yet it offers something more connected than the actual episode, due to its world building from established events. As it is, it’s rather a finale that would’ve seemed more appropriate halfway through the series, at least to me. It would’ve changed my score from a 4/5 (8/10) to a 5/5 (9/10), anyway. Love this idea
|
|
shutupbanks
Castellan
There’s a horror movie called Alien? That’s really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.
Likes: 5,661
|
Post by shutupbanks on Dec 10, 2018 11:11:21 GMT
It was so good, for so long, but then it just turned to crap. And the Doctor just leaves at the end- no scene with the companions, no emotional aftermath, nothing. A disappointment and a dreadful finale episode. I don't care if New Year 'acts as a finale' either. It isn't, this was, and it didn't deliver the goods. In the show's defence, I'll offer any number of Classic final episodes.
|
|
shutupbanks
Castellan
There’s a horror movie called Alien? That’s really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.
Likes: 5,661
|
Post by shutupbanks on Dec 10, 2018 11:19:57 GMT
I really liked it: I'm still frustrated by how Yaz is treated but then I realised that perhaps she is fulfilling her arc: she wanted some adventure and risk and she has gotten that.
Graham and Ryan were fantastic but I felt that we got Ryan's weakest episode: I loved that we got some real conflict with him, but I didn't doubt that he wouldn't make the right choice, especially with Ryan by his side.
The pacing was fantastic in this story, too. There was quite a bit of running through corridors but it felt like it helped the story. There were some nods to old cliches - the bots shooting themselves, CUTTING THROUGH BULKHEADS (!!!), secondary characters facing moral dilemmas (can we have Mark Addy back some time?) - but this was a fantastic conclusion to a new direction for Doctor Who. It felt like Season 18 again, to be honest: there have been themes, recurrent ideas, nods to earlier stories, foreshadowing, but all in a way that doesn't affect the episodes on their own.
As I said earlier today, it hasn't been the best series but it has been a wonderfully consistent one. It's solid Who. And my wife has watched every episode with me, something that has never happened before.
|
|
|
Post by whiskeybrewer on Dec 10, 2018 13:26:19 GMT
I laughed at the Fist bump and the beat before
"What do we do now?" lol
|
|
|
Post by nottenst on Dec 10, 2018 15:25:30 GMT
There was sort of an arc between "The Woman Who Fell to Earth," "The Ghost Monument," "Demons of the Punjab," "It Takes You Away," and "The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos." The Stenza carry through 3 of them. Family, loss, and acceptance carry through them as well. This episode unified most of the season together. It was a nice culmination of the journey The Doctor and her friends were going on.
One weird editing thing about the episode. After they gave the neural balances to the Ux, the Doctor and Yaz started feeling the planets affects and I was wondering why she didn't ask for them back. Later in the episode, they both had them back. I presume there is a missing scene that was edited for time (at least on BBCA). Or maybe it went by so fast I missed it.
The Doctor's talking to Graham about not taking revenge and killing Tim Shaw points again to how bad the ending of Kerblam! was. I still find that completely inconsistent to how the Doctor was portrayed the whole season. I can't see how the writer of this episode let that ending go through for Kerblam!
I was glad that one of the Ux was doubting how the "creator" was using their powers, though it is hard to believe that he had them fooled for 3407 years. Speaking of 3407, the model number for the 11th Doctor's sonic screwdriver is 3407.
|
|
|
Post by charlesuirdhein on Dec 10, 2018 16:20:59 GMT
One weird editing thing about the episode. After they gave the neural balances to the Ux, the Doctor and Yaz started feeling the planets affects and I was wondering why she didn't ask for them back. Later in the episode, they both had them back. I presume there is a missing scene that was edited for time (at least on BBCA). Or maybe it went by so fast I missed it. The scene is there in the BBC broadcast anyway. It is quick but not blink and miss.
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Dec 10, 2018 18:58:47 GMT
Weeelll... in one word- utterly predictable.
Very average.
I kind of knew that the Stenza were coming back, so that wasn't a big surprise, and 10 minutes in, I knew EXACTLY how the whole episode was going to go. I was hoping against hope for at least a little shake-up or some brave move (like Graham really shooting, but not killing, the tooth fairy), but it was not to happen.
I think for me, this was the most disappointing episode of the whole series.
It was not bad, it certainly looked good, but for me at least, it was totally "painting by numbers". And this after last weeks episode, which was sooo refreshing and full of surprises.
Concerning the references to the Pirate Planet.... I was only rolling my eyes and thought- "Seriously?" And then the Doctor just hand-waves this away? After he got really angry when this happened the first time? Sorry, I did not buy it. As for the sudden issuing of grenades and bombs to all participants, after it was forbidden to mercy- kill poor suffering spiders a few episodes ago... I think I now have a whiplash injury from shaking my head too much.
Oh well. I liked the trailer for the New Years episode and really looking forward to it. Hope it is a bit more original with what it does and the premise at least sounds promising.
|
|
|
Post by agentten on Dec 10, 2018 19:00:14 GMT
A real cracking season finale with great emotional content for Graham and Ryan and a dynamic role for the Doctor. Completes the family themed season arc and strengthens the development of the TARDIS team as a cohesive unit. The tension between Graham and the Doctor was a surprise, but really well performed and the episode's effects and sets looked fantastic. Feels like this season just flew by. I love how strong this week and last week were, definitely ended the season on a high note for me.
|
|
|
Post by Tim Bradley on Dec 10, 2018 19:20:29 GMT
|
|
|
Post by barnabaslives on Dec 10, 2018 19:47:59 GMT
As for the sudden issuing of grenades and bombs to all participants, after it was forbidden to mercy- kill poor suffering spiders a few episodes ago... I think I now have a whiplash injury from shaking my head too much. I hope the whiplash gets better soon. :-) I didn't mind the showdown between Graham and Tzim-Sha or the references to Pirate Planet but the armaments did seem a little bit of a slap in the face, I was absolutely not buying The Doctor's turnaround on weaponry. I may have to make an edit to my headcanon. On the other hand, it seems like a rather Moffat-y thing to do to allow the characters to behave uncharacteristically to advance the story except I think Chibnall has made less of a habit of it thankfully. I'm sure I survived worse during the Capaldi era. :-)
|
|