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Post by charlesuirdhein on Apr 23, 2017 1:53:51 GMT
Still needed a better resolution than a sonic screwdriver reboot I thought.
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Post by relativetime on Apr 23, 2017 2:02:32 GMT
This one reminded me of a Classic Who episode in terms of pacing. It was pretty enjoyable overall. The ending happened a little too quickly and easily, but otherwise I enjoyed it. I really just loved how the Doctor and Bill interacted in this one. I'm a bit disappointed we didn't have more of Nardole in this one past the bit at the beginning - I'd like to get to know him a little bit more and see how his travels with the Doctor have changed him. But, I'm sure we'll see more of him as the series progresses.
As someone who felt In the Forest of the Night was a pretty weak episode, I think Boyce has redeemed himself with this story. Series 10 is looking strong so far!
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Post by omega on Apr 23, 2017 2:11:47 GMT
Still needed a better resolution than a sonic screwdriver reboot I thought. Maybe if some kind of cerebral interface to influence the Vardi was introduced earlier in the episode (with the mood of the operator being set to work against grief like some sort of Helen A from Happiness Patrol) and the Doctor uses it to erase the memory of the Vardi and the influence of the interface to prevent it happening again? With the operator also being killed it locks the Vardi into the anti-grief mode. It'd fit into the theme of the humans not planning for things like death and how that would affect the Vardi.
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Post by omega on Apr 23, 2017 2:16:19 GMT
I liked the touch of the colonists not being Caucasian. Much like the Indian space agency back in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship actually.
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Post by kimalysong on Apr 23, 2017 2:18:04 GMT
I thought the first half was fantastic. Loved the Emoji robots and found the simple concept of them terrifying. Lots of lovely moments between Bill & the Doctor. I can't tell you how much I love Bill. The very little we saw of Nardole was great too. I don't know I was kind of afraid he'd be more bumbling but instead he is more sardonic which actually does fit my sense of humor.
But yes the second part of this was way too rushed and ultimately the conclusion was a disappointment. Once the pods were introduced (don't get me wrong I usually like my cryogenic stories) the story just felt like it did a tail spin. And I don't think reset the robots & everyone just gets along was a very good solution. I felt they could of did a lot more with the idea of humans need sadness just as much as they need happiness. Certainly that's been done before but sticking to a theme would have worked more for me than let's just hit the reset button and everything will be ok.
Oh well in conclusion great world building, extremely disappointing final act, and I am still loving Bill.
Also BBC America is making me watch Class to see next week's trailer which I find very annoying. Will have to find it online.
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Post by icecreamdf on Apr 23, 2017 2:42:20 GMT
👍
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2017 2:44:33 GMT
I liked the touch of the colonists not being Caucasian. Much like the Indian space agency back in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship actually. Certainly, great to see the BBC's diversity plans in action. Really makes the whole thing more believable when the people on screen are as varied in age, race and gender as the people we see everyday. Though the very much caucasian Ralf Little would be the only one of the main guests to be anywhere near a household name in the UK. I've no idea how much he'd be known elsewhere but he's certainly very, very well known here. Mostly thanks to the beloved Royle Family but, for Who connections, Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps where he played the boyfriend, later husband, of one Sheridan Smith - the role that really made her famous years before Lucie Miller was dreamt of.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2017 2:54:30 GMT
I've not got an issue with the "reset" quite as much as some seem to. If somehow it was contrived that the deaths didn't happen I might do but there was a high price paid to set this colony up and all those people - including a wee boy's mum - paid it. Having Ralf's character still very much uneasy at the end tells me, at least, that while The Doctor literally reset the emojibots, the situation was not quite done and dusted. He just did what he had to in order to stop the senseless killing and hoped reason and goodness would win out after he left. There's no guarantee it will...I quite liked that for an ending.
The actual ending leading into the next adventure inadvertently reminded me very much of the early Hartnell era. Where they would go from An Unearthly Child straight to Skaro at the end of the serial cliffhanger. And then at the end of The Daleks, straight to China for the start of Marco Polo etc etc. That's a really old school way to end a Doctor Who story.
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Post by omega on Apr 23, 2017 3:03:14 GMT
The actual ending leading into the next adventure inadvertently reminded me very much of the early Hartnell era. Where they would go from An Unearthly Child straight to Skaro at the end of the serial cliffhanger. And then at the end of The Daleks, straight to China for the start of Marco Polo etc etc. That's a really old school way to end a Doctor Who story. Some Second Doctor stories were linked this way as well. The Moonbase ended on Macra claws, The Faceless Ones led right into Evil of the Daleks, Enemy of the World into Web of Fear and Dominators into Mind Robber for example. Season 19, at least the first half, did the thing of having the stories taking place in quick succession, with Four to Doomsday's ending taking Nyssa out of Kinda and dialogue from The Visitation (Tegan remembering being under the Mara's thrall and the Doctor telling Adric off for using the TSS machine) and Earthshock (the Doctor reading the Black Orchid book from the TV story of the same name) referring back to the previous story. The Lost Stories with the Fifth Doctor did this as well, with Hexagora and The Children of Seth directly referencing The Elite and Hexagora.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2017 3:10:53 GMT
Cool beans but my point was that that ending was going back to the very, very beginning of the show in 1963 more than just listing all the times it happened.
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Post by TommyP on Apr 23, 2017 5:54:09 GMT
Yeah' fun little Episode, really liking the feel of this season more and more...
A couple of people have mentioned Ralf Little small guest spot' but no one has mentioned the lovely surprise of seeing Gita Chandra 😂 In Space Lol, what would Rani say Haha ha.
TommyP
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2017 7:25:54 GMT
As most of you know I'm not so much a fan of the current showrunner but this was a fantastic episode, Frank Cottrell Boyce script was tense, exciting & perfectly paced in my opinion building up the tension that intensified the drama & Capaldi & Mackie are the best pairing since Tennant & Piper.
Nardole character feels tacked on & i think the chemistry works better with just the Doctor & Bill.
I went into this episode expecting nothing but another style over substance, episode what i got was a gem of a episode & for once glad to be proven wrong.
Gets a 9/10 from me.
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Post by dalekbuster523finish on Apr 23, 2017 8:46:23 GMT
I enjoyed it. It was slow, but it set up an intriguing enough mystery to disguise the pacing. I don't think it would have worked as well had it featured a different Doctor and companion. Have to agree. It only really works as a second episode. It may have worked with 7 and Ace. But... if this were - say - 11 and Clara, it'd be a bit bland. Yeah, 7 and Ace is probably the only other Doctor-companion pairing that I could see working with this episode. Maybe 1, Susan, Ian and Barbara at a push.
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Post by acousticwolf on Apr 23, 2017 8:56:49 GMT
Another enjoyable story. Bill is shaping up to be a great companion - Pearl Mackie, what a find and Capaldi seems more settled in the role. It might be the writing but flippin' typical as he's leaving.
I can do without the whole Oath/Vault Arc though - it'll probably end up being an anticlimax anyway. I just want good storylines that don't try to be clever. Hope it lasts for the rest of the season.
Cheers
Tony
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Post by chopper on Apr 23, 2017 9:12:41 GMT
Thought this an average episode. Reminded me of tennants second with that zombie hospital.
But nanobots, cryo freeze and colonists running away from a doomed planet...
What if these colonists were from Mondas rather than Earth?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2017 9:36:07 GMT
Another enjoyable story. Bill is shaping up to be a great companion - Pearl Mackie, what a find and Capaldi seems more settled in the role. It might be the writing but flippin' typical as he's leaving. I can do without the whole Oath/Vault Arc though - it'll probably end up being an anticlimax anyway. I just want good storylines that don't try to be clever. Hope it lasts for the rest of the season. Cheers Tony Call me an idealist but I'd rather have good storylines that do try to be clever.
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Post by acousticwolf on Apr 23, 2017 9:38:40 GMT
Another enjoyable story. Bill is shaping up to be a great companion - Pearl Mackie, what a find and Capaldi seems more settled in the role. It might be the writing but flippin' typical as he's leaving. I can do without the whole Oath/Vault Arc though - it'll probably end up being an anticlimax anyway. I just want good storylines that don't try to be clever. Hope it lasts for the rest of the season. Cheers Tony Call me an idealist but I'd rather have good storylines that do try to be clever. Perhaps I should have said "too" clever Cheers Tony
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Post by elkawho on Apr 23, 2017 10:55:33 GMT
I'm in the "Loved it" camp. I had a great time watching this episode. I love Bill and her relationship with this Doctor. I adored her interrogation of him in the Tardis. "Why can't you reach the controls from the chair? Do your arms stretch? Are you like Mr. Fantastic?" Ha ha ha.
I agree that it needed another 10 or 15 minutes. The ending was rushed and it really didn't make much sense, but I still loved it.
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Post by Sir Wearer of Hats on Apr 23, 2017 10:58:02 GMT
Still needed a better resolution than a sonic screwdriver reboot I thought. I'd have gone for "Doctor realises that the wee robots are alive, and one is feeling grief therefore explains the purpose and value of grief to the wee robots. Everyone happy and as a gag the grief emoji is the Doctor's face".
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2017 10:59:49 GMT
Call me an idealist but I'd rather have good storylines that do try to be clever. Perhaps I should have said "too" clever Cheers Tony The Chris Carter Effect is what TV Tropes likes to call it. I really enjoy intelligent stories like Brotherhood of the Daleks, but gimmickry tends to rebound back on itself. I rather enjoyed Smile. The resolution was a bit disappointing with the literal reset switch (I don't like how this is becoming a thing), but the rest of the story was so solid that I'm willing to forgive it. It had this marvellous structure to it and a genuinely intriguing plot. I'm still enjoying Bill and Twelve finally feels as though he's settled into his own skin. We're not trying to puzzle out the newest mystery girl, we're off exploring unfamiliar settings with an unusual twist. I'm loving this new approach so far. Nothing's blown me off the sofa, but we're getting some serious traction here. It's a good sign.
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