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Post by Hieronymus on Dec 26, 2015 20:35:24 GMT
The writing and foreshadowing in this episode were far more clever and subtle than I realized until a second watching and a bit of fact digging.
(1) The Doctor says to River (before he knows it's her) "I've just had a haircut and this is my best suit", which is what River said to No. 10 in Forest of the Dead about their last date together.
(2) The secret compartment in the TARDIS with the Aldebaran brandy references The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, again foreshadowing the story's end.
(3) The "Mathiesa Boutique" seemed too prominent in shot not to be a nod to writer Jamie Mathieson, who most recently co-wrote The Girl Who Died, which again heralds the end of River's adventures, yet reminds us that (like "Me") she lives on.
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Post by Shiny on Dec 26, 2015 22:06:41 GMT
Usually, I'm hard to please when it comes to romps. I believe that a story needs the plot to be a least a little interesting, even if the episode was just aiming for fun and humour. With that said, after a dark and serious Series 9, I'm willing to accept a Christmas special like this. The diamond plot was stupid and I really didn't like any of the human guest characters at all, but the interactions between River and Capaldi's Doctor was great. It was frustrating how long it took for River to realise who the Doctor was, but it was worth it for the Doctor's "bigger on the inside" reaction. As a romp, this episode worked.
On top of that, we got a couple of serious scenes and they were done really well. Also between the Doctor crying at Darillium, giving her a sonic screwdriver, her diary being read out, the Bone Meadows mention, the mention of there being two Doctors and River's theme from Let's Kill Hitler being played, there are were more than enough callbacks to make this a fitting farewell to River, for the tv show at least.
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Post by kimalysong on Dec 26, 2015 22:31:36 GMT
I thought the plot of the episode was a bit daft but all the moments between the Doctor & River made it worth it. Kingston & Capaldi had some great chemistry.
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Post by barnabaslives on Dec 26, 2015 23:31:58 GMT
I think I enjoyed this more than any Christmas special prior. It seemed to me like a remarkably good balance of favorite elements, it was consistently clever without getting peculiar and there were a surprising number of laugh-out-loud moments. The special effects were stupendous without overextending themselves, Alex and Peter both were fantastic in this (and fantastic together) and I even thought the supporting cast were very good in context. I did wince a little over the diamond plot, but maybe the point was that retrieving it isn't something that could be done with a Sonic Screwdriver, which would lend plausibility to the the ensuing follies.
Really looking forward to starting the River box set, hopefully today or tomorrow.
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Post by icecreamdf on Dec 27, 2015 5:10:51 GMT
This episode was a lot of fun, and the ending was really good. I really hope this isn't River's last TV appearance though. It should still be possible for a post-Name of the Doctor River to appear.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2015 9:11:30 GMT
This episode was a lot of fun, and the ending was really good. I really hope this isn't River's last TV appearance though. It should still be possible for a post-Name of the Doctor River to appear. Yes, I'd like to see more investigation of the post death River.
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Post by Timelord007 on Dec 27, 2015 9:21:11 GMT
About the Tardis doors not shutting if someone holding on to them like Kurtz did in Colditz. I completely missed that. I could be wrong it's just how i interpreted the scene
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Post by acousticwolf on Dec 27, 2015 9:25:20 GMT
I liked the interaction between 12 and River but thought the rest of the plot was "standard Christmas special weak". I like Greg Davis and Matt Lucas but I wish they'd stop bringing comedians in "just because they can". Matt Lucas didn't add anything to the plot except for Strax-like comedy (imho).
Like others I'll be watching it again and followed by "Silence in the Library etc".
Cheers
Tony
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mbt66
Chancellery Guard
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Post by mbt66 on Dec 27, 2015 12:04:22 GMT
I loved it!
I was a little concerned about the return of River, becuase I thought her story on TV had been told and I couldn't imagine what they could do with her and the twelfth Doctor. How wrong was I and just confirms my limited imagination. Steven Moffet is a genius.
For me this was the most enjoyable Doctor Who episode since Matt Smith's departure, but that could have been due to all the Christmas spirit!
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Post by Hieronymus on Dec 27, 2015 12:26:56 GMT
This episode was a lot of fun, and the ending was really good. I really hope this isn't River's last TV appearance though. It should still be possible for a post-Name of the Doctor River to appear. That would be tricky, or even contrived. River says in Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead, that the last time she saw him was when they visited the singing towers. So, there can't be a story with a later version of River. She also clearly did not recognize Capaldi's Doctor, which rules out an earlier version of River with Capaldi, unless wibbly-wobbley. . . timey-wimey. . . stuff. . . So, it's not completely impossible, but my impression was that this story was intended to bid River a fond farewell on television.
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Post by Timelord007 on Dec 27, 2015 14:45:25 GMT
I'm writing a River Song story titled 'Cry Me A River'
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Post by icecreamdf on Dec 27, 2015 16:38:50 GMT
This episode was a lot of fun, and the ending was really good. I really hope this isn't River's last TV appearance though. It should still be possible for a post-Name of the Doctor River to appear. That would be tricky, or even contrived. River says in Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead, that the last time she saw him was when they visited the singing towers. So, there can't be a story with a later version of River. She also clearly did not recognize Capaldi's Doctor, which rules out an earlier version of River with Capaldi, unless wibbly-wobbley. . . timey-wimey. . . stuff. . . So, it's not completely impossible, but my impression was that this story was intended to bid River a fond farewell on television. The data-ghost can still appear though. That's how she was in Name of the Doctor.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2015 19:16:54 GMT
This episode was a lot of fun, and the ending was really good. I really hope this isn't River's last TV appearance though. It should still be possible for a post-Name of the Doctor River to appear. That would be tricky, or even contrived. River says in Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead, that the last time she saw him was when they visited the singing towers. So, there can't be a story with a later version of River. She also clearly did not recognize Capaldi's Doctor, which rules out an earlier version of River with Capaldi, unless wibbly-wobbley. . . timey-wimey. . . stuff. . . So, it's not completely impossible, but my impression was that this story was intended to bid River a fond farewell on television. The point about a post "Name of the Doctor" appearance is that it would be tagged on to the end of her current timeline, after her death. If Capaldi is still Doc she would recognise him and if not, she at least now realises that he could have a whole slew of bodies she doesn't know about, so woul probably figure it out quicker.
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Post by mrperson on Dec 27, 2015 21:41:32 GMT
Eh.....it was allright. Christmas, I guess. Most aren't so great.
Seemed a tad off, that in a universe in which he can force the Time Lords to save Clara (of all people), indefinitely allowing her to postpone death so long as she does not die anywhere other than Trap Street, somehow this is supposed to be the final meeting with his "wife (whom he married to convince her to fake-kill him, anyway)...
...even though he "saved" her by uploading her into the computer, where apparently she can at least project herself to him. (I also remember monologue from her to the effect that he visits every 5 millions years - jerk). Seemed oddly incongruent given that his failure to prevent Clara from dying gave clara effectively infinite life, if she wanted it. Say, on that note, his old Type 40 broke into a new universe accidentally (E-Space trilogy) and into the void (The Doctor's Wife). Perhaps she can even go where this "Raven" can't follow. But River? Eh...
It was ok, Ish, I guess.
Don't care much for Christmas specials anyway.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2015 13:16:29 GMT
I liked it; The Husbands of River Song was a typical TV Christmas Special with something for everybody... fun moments, crazy moments, plus a nice happy ending. Solid family entertainment. Which is what we want for Christmas evening in front of the box. It won't go down as a classic Doctor Who episode, but it wasn't bad. We've watched it twice here now, and the kids love it.
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Post by Timelord007 on Dec 28, 2015 17:03:44 GMT
My niece & her two friends watched it & thought it was utter tripe, there main issue was the bad guest acting of Greg Davies & Matt Lucas.
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Post by Tim Bradley on Dec 28, 2015 23:28:58 GMT
I'm writing a River Song story titled 'Cry Me A River' This sounds interesting. I'll look forward to reading it. Tim.
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Post by Timelord007 on Dec 29, 2015 9:55:12 GMT
I'm writing a River Song story titled 'Cry Me A River' This sounds interesting. I'll look forward to reading it. Tim. First story i wrote in a while, but had a idea so started writing a story, also helps distract me from current family issues with my aunt's dementia.
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Post by nottenst on Jan 1, 2016 16:24:41 GMT
I thought it was wonderful and probably my favorite of the Christmas specials. I did buy the Diary of River Song Series 1 and am looking forward to listening to that.
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Post by J.A. Prentice on Jan 12, 2016 4:24:19 GMT
I really enjoyed this. Sure, the plot was a little thin, but the character stuff made it work. Capaldi and Kingston were just great. A friend of mine and I were saying that the next time there's a chance for the whole "Classic Doctors reading New Series Speeches" thing to happen, it would be amazing to hear Tom Baker or Sylvester McCoy's take on the "Bigger on the Inside" scene, which was the comedic highlight of the episode for me. The dramatic highlight was River's dialogue about how the Doctor doesn't love her. Kingston really sells it and Capaldi does a lot with just his facial expressions. You can tell he's genuinely hurt that she feels this way. I feel like I'm rambling here, so I'll just link to the discussion I did of it for the rest of my thoughts rather than writing three pages.
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