Doctor...that guy!: the UK Viewers' Thread
 

Exactly what it sounds like. Discuss everything to do with the first and second seasons of the new series of Doctor Who, and everything to do with the seasons before. You can visit the US thread to answer some of their questions about the series, but KEEP IN MIND THAT THREAD'S SPOILER POLICY OR I WILL DO TO YOU WHAT THE DOCTOR DID TO CASSANDRA THE FIRST TIME. And again, please do not talk about Christopher Eccleston's leaving, David Tennant, or the Tenth Doctor in general over there until they see the regeneration for themselves. Just because the surprise was spoiled for us doesn't mean it needs to be for them.

Spoiler policy for this thread? Pretty nonexistent, unless you're talking about things you've heard about that might be coming up in as-yet-unaired episodes (...that the previews haven't already told us, anyway) or that might be happening in season three.

And go!

...should I tell yall about the one bit of info I know of?

It involves the new villian of 'Satan's Pit'.

Sutek.

I liked the latest episode. It wasn't very actiony, but it built up alot of tension and drama. I'm really hoping something big and explody's going to happen in the next episode.

Oh, and I heard chris evans will be playing the beast next episode... That'll be intresting

That's going to be a bit weird, seeing as him and Billy Piper were married at one point.

I wern't a big fan. It looked and felt like a stage show at times, and the rest of the set look borrowed from Red Dwarf. Plus, the aliens reminded me of System Shock/Bioshock, but only ever so slightly.

I was really annoyed, I missed the latest episode yesterday. Gonna try and catch it tonight on BBC3 though.

So far I've loved the new (second) series. Tennant has been amazing as the Doctor, I find, and I've loved most of the stories better than the last season (which I loved so much it's what made me a Doctor Who fan). I was a little disappointed in The Idiot's Lantern though, it felt lacking in explanation a bit too much, and the plot became a bit pointless. "Oh, there's this monster in TV, but it's okay, I'll just make this random deus ex machina device and save the world". Rather than any logical conclusion. Although I chuckled at concept that they just taped it.

I was also a littel disappointed in New Earth, that just felt like it had too many plot elements in it, and that it was a little cheesy.

But the rest of the episodes have surpassed the last season. Tooth and Claw and The Girl in the Fireplace really stood out to me, which is odd, because I was expecting to love the Cyberman and K-9 episodes more than those, which seemed like simple fillers between major events. But no, they were done brilliantly, and my favourite episodes of the season so far.

The Doctor jumping through a mirror on a horse was brilliant.

I loved the Cyberman episodes too, they really felt like a big action movie, especially the climax. I'm expecting them to return in the series later too, it seems logical to assume they'll be in the season finale, but I'm really hoping we see the 'real' Cybermen, not these alternate ones. It seems a bit of a shame to write out the old Cybermen. It's more fun when they have a history with the Doctor too. But wouldn't that call for ANOTHER redesign, since they wouldn't look coincidently like their parrellel counterparts that were made on Earth. And since I've heard nothing about another design of Cybermen being made, sadly I'm going to have to assume that's not going to happen.

Shame though. I'd love to see the 'real' Cybermen return.

And you heard very wrong. He didn't come up on the credits and nothing on the net about him being in it.

This episode was a lot better than last weeks one, although it felt like a series ending for some reason. I like where the Doctor was absailing down the hole. Very calming converstation.

Bah, stupid intranet. Maybe he'll be in another episode.
And I missed the first half hour of todays ep. I'll have to catch it again tomorow. I thought the beastie looked cool though.

Wow. I loved that episode. And it improves the first one tenfold when you think about them together. Really made it feel like a movie. I loved the base being run down, even if it was Red Dwarfish, as another poster mentioned (but c'mon, it's more inspired by Alien, or the simple concept that not all space travel must be clean). The chase through the vents and such was superb, although VERY Alien-esque, and the Beast looked superb I thought. Even in a movie, that would have been good. So in a BBC TV show?...Amazing!

Maybe the best two episodes yet. The characters, plotting, it was all good, very filmic, very epic. It didn't feel like television at all, let alone Doctor Who! (Well known for its poor special effects).

Next week's looks interesting, but nowhere NEAR the epic scale of this week's. My favourite episode of the season so far, I reckon. Even above Tooth & Claw, which I loved.

Next weeks loks like it's setting up torchwood. Oh, and it's got peter kay in it! how can that not be a good sign?

I liked the Ude, the design looked really scary in the access vents. But the story was spoiled by me, as I figured out how he would kill the beast thingy. But the series is on a good run at the momment, love may it continue.

Question; WAS it Sutek that showed up? Or was it just sorta of an injoke?

In Confidential they said they just used the same guy because they felt 'nobody has ever done an evil voice better', or something.

In my opinion, as far as old monsters go, the description of the Beast was much closer to Fenric (who's described as the force of evil from the dawn of time, that existed back when the universe was just two cosmic forces, good and evil) than anything else, but that's just coincidence, I imagine. I mean, the amount of villains Doctor Who has had, stuff like this are bound to have similarities.

How he killed the beast wasn't really the big spoiler. You knew he could only do it that way. It was how he was gonna do it and save Rose. Finding the TARDIS in the pit was a bit of a cop out I thought, I mean, how did it get down there? I assume that parts of the base were sucked into the pit, hence the TARDIS along with it, but I think it may have helped if we saw other bits of base junk down there, so the TARDIS being there didn't feel so deus ex machinary.

But, y'know, he had to get it back! Although it seems to be foreshadowing that either something's wrong with the TARDIS, or something's wrong with the vortex, because of how the TARDIS 'fell out of it' in Rise of the Cybermen, and how at the start of The Impossible Planet it seemed to have its lights flickering on and off. The TARDIS has never been reliable, but I can't think of a time we've seen it going THIS wrong. I wonder if that's foreshadowing something.

I had no problem with the TARDIS saving the rocket from the blackhole, though. It was actually a nice throwback to the old series, talking about black holes and how the Time Lords 'practically invented them'.

And it's always a joy to see the TARDIS flying through space like a normal space craft!

So yeah, that's about the one complaint I had, just the rediscovering of the TARDIS in the pit at the last second, because it was just so predictable, and how it got into the pit didn't seem to make much sense.

But it didn't at all stop me enjoying what is in my opinion the best episode yet.

Contemplate the Ood - mind flayers much?

Mind Flayers are D&D monsters right?

It's likely both were more based off Lovecraft style monsters. I've never read any of those stories (shamefully), but I know the basic design (or at least think I know), and I'd guess they were more based off that.

Could be wrong, of course.

I thought they said Mind Flares, which makes a little bit more sence.

a) What?
b) How many space craft have you seen flying?
c) It's a freakin' box!
d) Wouldn't the spinning make the Doc sick?

I bet anyone that the Doctor saves the world from a evil villain in the next episode, also: He does some time travilling too! Because he doesn't do that every single episode.

Ok, my info can be sketchy, but I've heard that the doctor's barely going to be in the next episode. Take that as you like.

Why do I severly doubt that, seeing as the show is called "Doctor Who"?

Bobbeh, what is up with you and this snippy tone? I know you're annoyed with the spoiler thing, but live in the now.

Between the tentacle-faces, the indecipherable ancient script, the delicate young intellectual who goes evil crazy from handling it, and the heinous unspeakable horrors from beyond time, it's probably pretty safe to assume.

Here and I was gonna guess Doctor Seuss!

Oh c'mon, you know I was referring to generic sci-fi. We see space ships in science fiction all the time. But none compare to seeing a little blue box spinning through space. I find it amusing.

And the inside is a seperate dimension from the outside, hence the outside spinning doesn't affect the inside.

Except when stuff goes wrong and the ship needs to dramatically shake, it seems.

Dramatic tension > common sense+continuity

I couldn't agree more. That'd be why I didn't complain!

Although I'm sure you could justify it, something like 'malfunctions in the time vortex effect the TARDIS itself directly, hence the console malfunctioning, while the act of travel does not'.

But yeah, really it's just dramatic tension. And cool 'beat up spaceship' effects. Which are always neat. I love the junky TARDIS.

If the TARDIS was grown, why does it look like an old-style earth police box. If it was designed that way, why doesn't the Doctor change it to blend in more in more places. The only place a police box fits in is Earth for a period of 10-20 years or so.

Well, first it was becuase of a faulty circuit, and it got stuck as a police box. He never bothered fixing it becuase he got attached to the look.

My spoilered comments was in light jeer as I'm stateing the bleeding obvious.

I've never quite understood that in Sci-Fi. There's no gravity in space, so how can a rocket make the ship rock so violently? It wouldn't, I don't expect. (Don't hold this on me, I'm not a rocket scientist)

Oh, and on the Ood<=>mind flayer thing, I present:
Mind flayers
and
The Ood.

See the resemblence?

I don't think it's THAT similar. Probably just similar horror concepts.

As for the TARDIS being 'grown', the appearance has nothing to do with that. The TARDIS is MEANT to be able to disguise itself whereever it goes, landing and looking like something that belongs there (a big rock in a desert, a fireplace in a house, etc.). However, the Doctor's TARDIS broke in the very first episode, when it malfunctioned, and got on it's 1960's Junkyard setting, in which it was disguised as a police box.

Ever since then, it's been a box. Except one old episode where he fixed it, but it never stayed that way (where would the fun in that be?), and even when 'fixed', it kept turning into utterly inappropriate things.

If any of you ever see the really old Who's, (The Edge of Destruction here) it's got a quite ironic bit where the Doctor insists that the idea his 'machine' is alive is ridiculous. I guess even the Doctor didn't know the true nature of the TARDIS back when he first got it.

Yes, I've never understood ships shaking when they're hit, but I've never cared either. It always looks cool.

Star Wars Episode III is the worse offender, when the ship starts to crash, so everybody slides, despite it being in space.

Drat you! You were right. Anywho, I liked this episode, who doesn't love ELO? And the love relationship thing at the end could be a bit questionable for the Beeb...

"so what's the twin planet of rastophalxionphalifitorius caled?"
"clomp"
Fantastic. I loved some of the lines in this episode. It's not my favorite by a long shot, but it was fairly decent.

Just saw Saturday's episode.

HO-HO-HOLY CRAP!

Hehehe. Talk about awesome cliffhangers. You have to give the show credit for that!

Although it was slightly spoilt by the fact the distinctive laser blast was in last week's trailer, but that just fueled speculation instead of making it obvious.

Well, here it comes :D

I hope (and pretty much know) that they'll pull this off real snazzy.

And unless that Dalek wasn't black, I'd have to say that the alternate universes allow a very good-looking chance of The Master's return...

What do you mean? Lead Daleks have always been black since, well, the Daleks second ever appearance. (Wow, that feels nerdish to know, but it's because I've actually watched both the first two sixties Dalek serials). I doubt it has anything to do with the Master.

Plus I doubt even the Who production team could pull off Daleks, Cybermen, Torchwood, the rebels, Mickey, Rose leaving AND the Master all in 45 minutes.

He'll have to come back eventually though, because everybody keeps expecting it. In the first series the producers said that they wouldn't bring back the Cybermen because they'd be too naff, and look now!

No, you miss my point (which, looking at my post, is a pretty hard point to find). I'm saying that since Black Daleks haven't existed in the primary Universe since the Time Wars, then in whatever Universe they came from the Time Wars must never have happened, or at least have had some other outcome.

If that big a difference in the histories is possible, then what's to keep the Master from still being alive in one of the alternate universes?

And no, I'm not expecting him in today's episode, but the fact the writers are able to convincingly bring back the Daleks after rendering them "extinct" three times (since the Time Wars, that is), then The Master's return should be no great feat for them.

Sorry about that, I have a habit of not explaining myself enough...

My only gripe with the episode is how did Rose's dad know when and where to zoom back in to save Rose? He couldn't!

Also, why Cathrine Tate? Are they surposely bringing the most annoying people into the series? We'll have Matt Lucas in Doctor Who before long!

Oh, that was a sad episode. I'm glad they saved Rose though, definatly thought she was going to die.
Plus, the Darlek/cybermen banter was hilarious.

"Talk to the plunger!"

Yeah, I made that up

I meant stuff like

"You belive 4 darleks can wipe out 5 million cybermen?"
"1 Darlek can wipe out 5 million cybermen!"

The Cyber/Dalek banter was fantastic, completely. (This is a spoiler heavy post, but hey, this is a spoiler thread, but still, don't read if you haven't seen...)

Dalek: "Daleks have no concept of elegance!"
Cyberman: "That much is obvious."

It was a little out of character, but priceless. And the whole moment of "Identify yourself!" "State your identification!" "You will identify yourself first!" was pretty funny when it came to "Daleks do not take orders!" "You have identified yourself."

It just reminded me so much of:
"Right! I will have your name too!"
"Don't tell him Pike!"

I wonder if anybody gets that reference...

The episode itself was awesome, but felt a little, rushed. Like the Doctor seems to not react much at the Dalek's return, despite previously hating them so much, simply because there probably wasn't time. And the random Cyberman who was the head of Torchwood crying and somehow resisting the conversion process felt totally random and unexplained, unless I missed something.

But overall it was just fantastic fun.

It did of course confirm the black Dalek as just a 'this' worldy Dalek survivor of the Time War. But as for the talk of the Master, he CAN return, have no doubt the writers can write him back in if they have to, but I believe Russell T Davies said that he felt previously he was overused and not a very good villain, so would only ever return him for a REALLY good story (like he said of the Cybermen).

Oh, and did anybody notice the black Dalek phasing away in the climax, with a little "Activate emergency temporal systems!" or something along those lines. Looks like this time they directly showed their escape.

Is it just me, or does the existance of the Cult of Skaro show some pretty strong parallels to the Daleks' mission to recover Davros in "Destiny of the Daleks"?

Dad's Army

Yes! It's nice to see somebody recognise that. To be honest, when I posted that, I forgot this was the UK viewer thread, so I figured most people wouldn't be familiar with Dad's Army, but I guess it's still popular here, which is nice.

Although it seems to have faded a bit lately. I'm sure it was on TV more a few years ago.

I wonder how popular it is in other countries actually, I know a few BBC comedies like Red Dwarf have a lot fans around the globe, but others seem to not really get outside of England popularity wise...

Bumping to link to this, hee hee.

Is that at all what Tom Baker was like in the role? I might go looking for Fourth Doctor episodes if it is, I like his evil booming cackle.