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Post by shellyharman67 on Nov 5, 2014 20:25:03 GMT
The mistress? Please don't tell me they regenerated the master into a woman:( Oh yes ! But is all what it seems ? |
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Post by Will Weller on Nov 5, 2014 22:02:37 GMT
The mistress? Please don't tell me they regenerated the master into a woman:( Oh yes ! But is all what it seems ? This whole Mistress business might just turn out to be one of Moffat's not very funny jokes, however it's unlikely. Personally I think there's an 80% chance it's real and a 20% chance it isn't. Also she might just be an anoglamation of the Master, like the Valyard is of the Doctor. So far there's nothing to prove or disprove this theory. |
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Post by John W King on Nov 5, 2014 23:37:55 GMT
Hmmm....my personal take on this series is it's a bit of TV Comic Who, Dr Who Monthly's teenage cartoon strip mixed with Adele Blanco due Sec - but not real Who.
Originally Dr Who was sufficiently scientifically based to seem "real" I.e it could almost have happened. They even employed a scientific adviser. Nathan Turner nearly killed off classic Who by listening to the fans and not the general public. If he continues on this track then I believe Moffat will do the same. I give it another 2 to 3 series before viewing figures drop drastically to a point when the BBC will consider Who's future. Shame - great production values but it's style over content. I mean, the Moon as an egg! St. Paul's dome opening up! It's not real and the general public won't fall for it.
And Capaldi - great actor, potentially great Doctor. But on the evidence of this series sadly a dour, humorless Johnny - one note.
And think, if Dr Who does die in another couple of series the
search for old classic Who will become much harder
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Post by Paul McDermott on Nov 6, 2014 3:43:16 GMT
I wasn’t expecting much from Series 8, although I wished for improvement. Like any new Doctor era, they always go long on soundbites and salesmanship in the lead-in, but it doesn’t mean much until you can see the eps.  Capaldi has a bit of a tough road, and it’s not of his making. Since ’05, the alien Doctor was so accessible he’s largely made the perpetual local girl travelling with him redundant. Not only is he hip (or anti-hip, a la Smith) he’s fairly young - and largely, played that way too. Having a visibly older lead was a risk, a change in brand positioning.  Ditto the idea that the dialling back on the idea of the lead as a romantic figure, long a mainstay since the Davies days. Atop that, he’s not cuddly anymore - he’s positively belligerent. Rarely without good cause mind, but his baseline is hardly the “plays nice with others” type we’ve seen for years and years. And unless you count “Shut Up!”, I don’t think he’s been lumbered with a catchphrase. Cyber Mary Whitehouse is no doubt busy organising a letter campaign!  Now one may quibble over whether these are positive, hopeful signs or not. But there’s lots of fans out there who’ve been grousing about the need for such changes. I know, I’m one of them. And I like what I’m seeing.  I think Capaldi will grow into the role, and the show’s style will likely flex and adapt to accentuate what’s different and good in the approach the team has decided to follow through on. There’s a lot to like, and room for a bit of minor tweaking. I think Series 9 will see good things for more of us than in quite a while, on the back of the clues above. It’s also a lot more accessible than New Who used to be, as Laurence noted. Thank goodness!  Consider Pertwee’s first season to his second. World of difference. But most folks consider the run from Season 8 onwards to be more like “proper” Pertwee, for good or ill. Adjustments were made from Sherwin’s original conception, and certainly you could argue that perhaps they weren’t all for the best. However, the production team of the day was figuring it out on the hop. And without the blare of global scrutiny and media hype their successors get now. If they’d done a rotten job, maybe there wouldn’t have been everything that came after. Or a big gap that might have prevented the JNT era… I think Series 8 is just like Season 7, in that there’s signs of the shape of tomorrow mixed with a few things that will probably get revised or toned down. And the things that are new and better deserve to be applauded, because it shows that the team are listening, are willing to consider other ways of making the show. It’s been a long time since I’ve anticipated next week’s ep, next year’s run. I haven’t liked everything about Series 8, but there’s enough there to feel encouraged and take the rough with the smooth, as it were. Instant Gaia trees? Moon’s an egg and there’s no water on the lunar surface?  Yeah, there are rough patches for mine, no doubt. But credit where it’s due, too! One thing that really spoke to me this innings has been the ep Flatline. And the reason that’s so ought to warm the cockles of the hearts of many old fans as well as the new.  Instead of yet another space monster in rubber and metal/plastic, who can be blown up or talked down, what do we find? Something very exciting: a threat that’s both mathematical and implacable!  What better way to turn on young minds than freak them out with deadly geometry? And make them laugh, too?  The visual effects really sold the story for me, from the way the Boneless transformationally dispatch their victims to the comical but cleverly explored realisation of the TARDIS concept as meaning something more than a sort of magic broom cupboard. It’s always been smaller outside! So what if that shape got smaller, and smaller? A topologically based menace offers wonderful potential for future encounters, none of which need to be approached in the same way we saw in Flatline, but can still absolutely be capable of bringing tears of laughter and terror. And making kids think (heck, even adults!) is nothing to sneeze at, either. It has a proud tradition in Doctor Who, and this is the sort of thing an enterprising teacher or savvy public broadcaster should take advantage of.  Why let Doctor Where (of Mathshow fame) have all the fun, eh? In some ways, Flatline reminded me of a Greg Egan short story, Luminous. I didn’t think a New Who ep could do that! |
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Post by stevehoare61 on Nov 6, 2014 7:23:22 GMT
Im clearly in the minority here, Ive actually really quite enjoyed this season, despite a few things and a couple of naff episodes.
I am bored with Clara and Mr Pink, Im tired of basing the season around Coal Hill School,its like sci fi Grange Hill and allowing the Tardis to become a kids Travel bus, but I have enjoyed Peter enormously. Hes as mad as a bag of frogs frankly. Unfortunately, some of the stories and some of the daft ideas have hindered him, and pee'd me right off, especially that Forest rubbish but I can see past that.
Flatline has been my favourite, despite The Dr becoming a minor character in it. I personally will not be sorry to see Clara go.
I also think its time for differnt hands at the reins, it feels like its time.
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Post by shellyharman67 on Nov 6, 2014 9:05:43 GMT
The problem is it's more about the companion. Not just that, he is turning it into another Sherlock Type character  It is more like a childs soap now i am afraid ! Though this double episode with the cybermen is rather good I am fed up with the season build up every season. Please lets leave earth for a change |
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Post by Paul McDermott on Nov 6, 2014 13:03:48 GMT
Oh yes ! But is all what it seems ? This whole Mistress business might just turn out to be one of Moffat's not very funny jokes, however it's unlikely. Personally I think there's an 80% chance it's real and a 20% chance it isn't. Also she might just be an anoglamation of the Master, like the Valyard is of the Doctor. So far there's nothing to prove or disprove this theory. Got an email from the Beeb Shop tonight, offering a free art card featuring "the Doctor and the Master" for certain orders. It's the publicity poster for Dark Water, Capaldi and Gomez. Really, I don't think the retail arm are yanking our chains! Missy = The Master. Simplest answer is usually the correct one. How this came to be is curious but I think no big deal really. It wasn't until the Pertwee to Baker transition that the present method began to gel, and in that previous ten years and a bit, nobody much seemed to get too het up about such things. It was ambiguous how Hartnell became Troughton, and how Troughton became Pertwee. The show hadn't begun to fixate on such minutiae, or ossify around "lore" and "canon" to the exclusion of what the show's about and if the stories are good. What's wrong with a little mystery about the character, and to be surprised by bizarre things happening to him once in a while? They happen all the time in the show, seems perfectly reasonable that from time to time something inexplicable to the viewer might change the way the lead looks and behaves, even if the character and show is still largely as before. Just because regeneration can change a Time Lord, it needn't follow that this is the only way recasting such folk in the show can or should or must always be done. It's not a trick any more, it's predictable. Ainley segued from Tremas to Master without a traditional change like we saw in say Series 3's Utopia. So too did that bloke in '96. So this time the Master is in a female form? Big whoop. Is the character well cast, well written, used sensibly? That's all I care about. Shaking up the predictable tropes every once in a while to me seems savvy and heathy. It's how we got much of what is considered the bricks and mortar of the show, by experimenting and not being afraid to try something new. I had suspected idly that Missy might be the Master pretty early on, but it was mere musing. But how much of a reveal would it have been if the "afterlife" bits we've seen through the current run involved a bearded guy in a suit, all manners and maniacal laughter? None at all, I'd say. Having both Time Lords (sorry, Time Lady and Time Lord!) be Scots, and with European surnames, seems a nice bit of symmetry. Really looking forward to ep 12, I'm hopeful that this will only serve to build anticipation for Christmas and '15! |
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Post by George D on Nov 6, 2014 14:05:45 GMT
Where have you been, George?! Im watching classic who Going through the Tom Bakers and now in the key to time series. It prevents me from getting too upset with what they are doing with the new series. ,,to keep the gossip mill going.. someone has suggested that missy could also be a pun for missing episodes |
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Post by mattplace on Nov 6, 2014 14:39:31 GMT
Where have you been, George?! Im watching classic who ,,to keep the gossip mill going.. someone has suggested that missy could also be a pun for missing episodes bangs head onto the table.... please tell me you are joking, someone cant really think that can they... and i thought the guy who posted about the numbers in time heist was stretching things a bit.. |
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Post by shellyharman67 on Nov 6, 2014 15:06:21 GMT
Considering none have been handed back ! People are clutching at the proverbial straw ! And sounds like he is back in Africa So the Quest continues so it seems ............ Is there room at your table for 2 Matt ? |
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Post by garysrothwellx on Nov 6, 2014 16:28:49 GMT
I just want to say that i have enjoyed Season 8 a lot. Sure there are episodes i have liked more than others - but that's always been the case, and let's not forget the less beloved episodes from the classic era.... every series has had stories that have been critically maligned, this one is no different.
I too would have prefered a less antagonistic doctor with Clara, but so what... it doesn't affect my enjoyment at all.
I've also re-watched most episodes (mostly as in the US there are so many breaks you lose focus!), and i find that they stand up well under those circumastances as well.
i enjoy it for what it is, and I like it!
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Post by mattplace on Nov 7, 2014 0:03:43 GMT
My take on season 8 is this.
I like Capaldi(especially the way he runs.. like someone who has never used legs before). Some of his abrasiveness i find charmimg, he really does not see it as insulting,and...the way Clara has devolved into such a boring mess,not unwarranted.
She does not work well with this Doctor, She worked better with Matt Smith (another era i was not fond of.. not due to the performance of the actors...)
.. but over all i am completely unengaged by this season, i don't "need" to see the next episode, sometimes i don't care if i miss it or not(i don't miss it though...)... spoilers now if you have not seen Dark water..
An example of my frustration was the foreknowledge that the Cybermen were in the finale(from images released at the start of the season).. as soon as you saw the skeletons in tanks.. you knew it was going to be the cybermen. This episode would have been much better if that revelation had been kept under wraps.(and it might have taken away from the "Mistress snogging the doctor scene - which was a new lowpoint for me)
I have read many glowing reviews of this season online and everyone is entitled to their opinion, but all i can think is .. are they watching the same episodes as me?
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Post by George D on Nov 7, 2014 0:03:45 GMT
bangs head onto the table.... please tell me you are joking, someone cant really think that can they... and i thought the guy who posted about the numbers in time heist was stretching things a bit.. The guy who told me clarified that he didnt believe it. Him and a friend were coming up with these for their own private amusement and not for public consumption. His point was how people can turn the most innocent line into a "clue" that missing episodes have been recovered. He had a list of a lot more but asked me not to quote him as he didnt want the gossip mill stirred more than it is with the natural insanity. ..of course it would be great if true |
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Post by Paul McDermott on Nov 9, 2014 2:01:59 GMT
Hopefully we've all seen 12, those who care enough to want to. Gotta say, for mine, best New Who series closer. And a showcase to what's to come for Series 9. Gomez? Best Master since Delgado. Capaldi? Finally gets room to play, and we see range. Beautiful dialogue, meaningful action, real jeopardy, definite losses, and a genuine love for the legacy of the series. You want darkness? Here it is, in spades. Yet it doesn't take itself too seriously, some lovely gags. Topped off with an appropriate exit track suggested for Clara and a very respectful exit to some long-running folk, it rocked. And Missy really was "so fine" - she name checked my typically overlooked home city!  And the watery drains minus the G20 security stickers - unintended comedy gold!!! |
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Post by mattplace on Nov 9, 2014 2:58:46 GMT
Hopefully we've all seen 12, those who care enough to want to. Gotta say, for mine, best New Who series closer. And a showcase to what's to come for Series 9. Gomez? Best Master since Delgado. Capaldi? Finally gets room to play, and we see range. Beautiful dialogue, meaningful action, real jeopardy, definite losses, and a genuine love for the legacy of the series. You want darkness? Here it is, in spades. Yet it doesn't take itself too seriously, some lovely gags. Topped off with an appropriate exit track suggested for Clara and a very respectful exit to some long-running folk, it rocked. And Missy really was "so fine" - she name checked my typically overlooked home city! And the watery drains minus the G20 security stickers - unintended comedy gold!!! I am wondering if we saw the same show!! Each to their own opinion but really disliked it.. I did like Capaldi but "missy" i thought was horrendous,more doing a "John Simm as the master" impersonation than creating her own incarnation. i will actively avoid Michelle Gomez in any other show after this. I really really hope Clara is done, she has become my least favorite companion ever. The "interface" guy was acting in a pantomime i thought. The flying cybermen somehow made them even less menacing.... but then again, were they actually cybermen or not?, sure as hell didn't act like them.. and the Cyberman driven by love.... enough said on that. But the biggest P.O.Sin the whole episode was the "clara eyes" and her name in the opening credits ahead of Capaldi... as soon as i saw that i thought "here come another convoluted mess from Moffatt"... and it was not even good for a laugh. I am getting more annoyed by it as i think about it .. just dreadful Missed your emoticons Paul.. glad they are back. |
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Yeah, there are rough patches for mine, no doubt. But credit where it’s due, too! 
It is more like a childs soap now i am afraid ! Though this double episode with the cybermen is rather good 