Doctor Who

[Poet]

Jesus Christ, people will find anything to complain about. It was great fun. It was an obvious attempt to make a christmassy disaster film in the style of Dr Who, and it managed it very well.

Well I didn't find it fun. I found it tedious, with a story which read like something I would have written when I was about seven. And my god... the one dimensional characters, the absolutely atrocious dialogue, and everything smothered in a layer of cheese so thick that alone should have sent the Titanic crashing into a massive fondue.

Why they haven't done something in these Christmas specials with the fact that the Doctor is the only man alive who can actually do the Santa Claus delivering gifts to children all over the world in one night thing, I dunno.

Because, even for Doctor Who, that might be a step too far into the realms of utter twaddle.

Perhaps they didnt think the millions of kids watching would give a shit about intergalactic exchange rates....

So really we should excuse incredibly lazy writing is what you're saying... well done.

Nice to see most people at least agreeing it was a very weak episode, even by Doctor Who standards.

[Yartek]

I thought that was great... a right rip off of the Poseidon Adventure. The fat woman dies! Maybe I'm getting a bit soft in my old age, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Even the last minute swoop past Buckingham palace with the Queen saying "Merry Christmas!"

We were disappointed we didn't see Philip taking potshots at the Titanic with a shotgun.

[Yix]

Modern Dr who is fast becoming tired. London London London London London.... ZZZzzzzzzzzz

Haha, have you watched Torchwood? Fucking hell, Earth's first line of defence against alien invaders choose sodding Cardiff as their headquarters! Cue lots of irritating aerial shots trying to make Cardiff look glamorous (and failing profusely although that's not necessarily their fault) and, in particular, lots of aerial shots of the cast stood on tall buildings for no fathomable reason.

I am reliably led to believe that the full title Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space was abandoned for the re-imaging because of budget constrictions which led for the vast Vast VAST majority of stories taking place in Earth, as opposed to all this travelling malarkey the Doctor claims he does.

Any, new Who will be popular and successful but, ultimately, shit as long as T. Davies remains at the helm. I understand that television involves a hell of a lot of people and that it's easy to blame the people at the forefront but I thoroughly believe if T. Davies were to fuck off or die in a pleasantly horrific accident, new Who would shine brighter than ever (as long as he isn't replaced by a moron).

[Geo]

I can't believe the amount of negativity in this thread considering the brilliant quality of the majority of episodes from the last season. Have faith my brothers!

[superfunk]

The midhsip man's miraculous recovery wound!

I was transfixed by his miraculous ears

[Mogster]

I can't believe the amount of negativity in this thread considering the brilliant quality of the majority of episodes from the last season. Have faith my brothers!

Never lost it. B)

I just watched listened to the new opening theme again, and I rather liked it this time. I've realised that what they've actually done is take the current end credits version, and remixed it with a synth backing. This is a good thing.

[sweetdaddyg]

the new tune was great, more in line with the older stuff

and the episode was great. All the haters have obviously forgotten what fun means.

[ChrisN]

Nice to see most people at least agreeing it was a very weak episode, even by Doctor Who standards

You think lots of Doctor Who episodes are bad but you're still watching.

[Hello Goaty ♥]

You think lots of Doctor Who episodes are bad but you're still watching.

Only because the BBC keep bigging it up.

After yesterdays special most of us have realised.

[ChrisN]

Only because the BBC keep bigging it up.

After yesterdays special most of us have realised.

£10 says you carry on watching next season. And carry on posting in here to say how terrible it is.

[vegetables]

...and the episode was great. All the haters have obviously forgotten what fun means.

I'm honestly struggling to think of many parts of the episode that actually were fun, though. Little bits of it were, but they were embedded in a tedious mess to my mind. I actually thought it was extremely dull, and that this was its main problem.

@ Onion: I'm seriously thinking of bigging up Big Finish to people around my age (early 20s) who grew up without current Doctor Who, loved the good episodes of the new series and felt increasingly crushed by how much bad there was, then listening to them instead of watching the non-Moffat bits of series 4. I

[Jack]

I totally don't get why these not human at all aliens from Planet Stoke Newington have an ordinary forklift in their intergalactic spaceship.

[ChrisN]

I totally don't get why these not human at all aliens from Planet Stoke Newington have an ordinary forklift in their intergalactic spaceship.

To lift heavy things.

[Jack]

To lift heavy things.

INFORMATION: They've got robot angels to do that.

[scottcr]

I also despise Everybody involved. The Doctor has collected an assortment of characters who, coincidentally, all have terrible secrets they get over. The shameful android, the "professor" who lied to his job and wasted his life, the fat couple and they all either manage to get over their secrets and/ or sacrifice themselves utilising their secret shames. The upper-class bastard wasn't even a bastard, he was just poorly written. In fact, he might as well have been an android who could only disagree or not help, even went it would have aided his survival. Apparently bastards don't even regard self-preservation above being disagreeable.

I think you missed the point here... it was a take on old 70s disaster movies. I thought it was fun going through the characters and pointing out the ones that were going to die... and how they give their lives to save others. It was straight out of the poseidon adventure - which is what I really liked most about it.

oh - and it had Bernard Cribbens. We need more of him on telly (he's in the next series!)

[scottcr]

the new tune was great, more in line with the older stuff

and the episode was great. All the haters have obviously forgotten what fun means.

I'm with you sweetdaddyg!

I get the impression that most people here would want a dark and moody angsty Doctor, gritty with no smiles and no fun. Lots of horror and lots of death.

That Dr Who would last about 6 epsiodes before being canned - and it'd be rubbish.

[vegetables]

I think you missed the point here... it was a take on old 70s disaster movies. I thought it was fun going through the characters and pointing out the ones that were going to die... and how they give their lives to save others. It was straight out of the poseidon adventure - which is what I really liked most about it.

You could argue, though, that while it's fine to replicate the structure of 70s disaster movies, it isn't fine to script your episode such that all the characters come off as barely even one dimentional. I don't think he's arguing that the concept of the episode wasn't sound, just that its execution meant it wasn't very successful for what seems like a fair number of people.

I get the impression that most people here would want a dark and moody angsty Doctor, gritty with no smiles and no fun. Lots of horror and lots of death.

Are you even reading the criticisms of the episode here? That's an absurd statement- pretty much everyone seems to have liked the idea and been behind the idea of a fun and exciting christmas episode, yet thought the episode in question was a mess. I can't stand "gritty" Doctor Who for the most part. I just can't stand shite Doctor Who either.

[Andsom]

I'm with you sweetdaddyg!

I get the impression that most people here would want a dark and moody angsty Doctor, gritty with no smiles and no fun. Lots of horror and lots of death.

That Dr Who would last about 6 epsiodes before being canned - and it'd be rubbish.

You can have smiles and fun without having cringes and cheese. It just needs a decent writer who knows the draw the distinction.

I thought it was an absolute mess. Really dreadful. There were a couple of little shining moments but they were few and far between.

[scottcr]

I really must've watched a different episode from a lot of folks here. My, the wife and the mum in law sat and watched and really enjoyed it. Now - last years Christmas special was *rubbish*. I'll quite happily get stuck into Dr Who when the do a Fear Her or something - but this was no where NEAR that. Did it reach the greatness of the best of the last series? No. But it was a jolly good Christmassy romp.

I do wish they'd move away from London though - just every now and again.

... the next series clips didn't look too great though and Catherine Tate is going to be rubbish. See - there... negativity!

[Beertiger]

£10 says you carry on watching next season. And carry on posting in here to say how terrible it is.

because occasionally Steven Moffat writes episode.

[Hello Goaty ♥]

I have a feeling Torchwood series 2 will be pretty damn good.

[Mogster]

I have a feeling Torchwood series 2 will be pretty damn good.

Me too. In fact, Torchwood season 1 was pretty damn good at times. It was only really a couple of episodes that actually let it down, and assuming the writers have taken on the criticisms levelled at the show so far, it could be very special indeed.

[Poet]

You think lots of Doctor Who episodes are bad but you're still watching.

Did you really "laugh out loud" at that? What an odd little man you are.

And yes, I do think a lot of it is rather poor, much like a lot of British television, and indeed I do continue to watch it, because on occasion it's rather good while the entire premise is always filled with promise.

To the person who was talking about it being "fun"... well the point was it simply wasn't fun yesterday. It was a poor episode with a startingly lazy script; there were loads better last season and it really wouldn't take too much to turn the show into proper family entertainment rather than it being a kids' show catering to the lowest common denominator. No, I don't want it to be The Wire or Battlestar Galatica, nor does it have to be, but I feel the show would be a far better television spectacle if there was more to it than the likes of yesterday's episode.

Incidentally, as regards the forklift truck and it having its brakes cut: I'm appalled that Minogue's character died there when all she had to do was step out of the truck and watch it carry on WITHOUT brakes taking the cyborg with it. That's just one instances of several from last night where you can look at this show and simply be appalled by just how lazy it is.

[AK Bell]

Me too. In fact, Torchwood season 1 was pretty damn good at times. It was only really a couple of episodes that actually let it down, and assuming the writers have taken on the criticisms levelled at the show so far, it could be very special indeed.

Torchwood has the potential to be great. It has has some excellent stories written for it...

...it just needs an infinitely better cast than it has now.

[Garwoofoo]

Me too. In fact, Torchwood season 1 was pretty damn good at times. It was only really a couple of episodes that actually let it down...

...most of which were unfortunately right at the start of the season. By the time it got good around the halfway mark, a lot of people had given up on it.

I'm really looking forward to series 2, but I hope to God that the woman who plays Tosh has had some acting lessons in the last year or so. She was painfully wooden.

[K]

I liked it, and I gave up watching Doctor Who after how rubbish most of series 2 and series 1 of Torchwood were. There were loads of bits that could have been a lot better, but it was an enjoyable enough way to pass the time while off my head on sprouts. Compare it to last year's Christmas special; that was genuinely painful to watch at times, but this year's was just a bit of fun.

Actually, having thought about it, the reason why I enjoyed the Christmas special is because I no longer give a fuck about Doctor Who. If I still cared, I'd probably have hated it.

[Jack]

Incidentally, as regards the forklift truck and it having its brakes cut: I'm appalled that Minogue's character died there when all she had to do was step out of the truck and watch it carry on WITHOUT brakes taking the cyborg with it. That's just one instances of several from last night where you can look at this show and simply be appalled by just how lazy it is.

It didn't help that I'd watched the episode of Father Ted with "We put the brick on the accelerator!" the night before.

[Salsa Party Animal]

I would like to see a Doctor Who program in Birmingham just for something different.

[Nick R]

One thing I didn't get is how the Doctor got control of the Hosts. He said it was because they go to the next highest person of authority. But as a stowaway, surely he is lower than everyone else still alive? Crew, staff and even a paying passenger would surely be higher than him?

Yeah, it might have made more sense for them to head to the bridge because the helmsman was the highest ranking crewman still alive, rather than because the Doctor ordered them there.

The midhsip man's miraculous recovery wound!

Obvious picture coming up...

I would like to see a Doctor Who program in Birmingham just for something different.

Why have Daleks in the Empire State Building... when you can have Daleks in the Rotunda?

[Yix]

The most notable example of laziness (as I enjoy re-iterating, entirely T. Davies' fault) would be Minogue's second death, which seemed to involve using the transporter to bring her back. Unfortunately it was damaged so she had to turn into blue balls of some sort and fuck off "travelling". Fair enough.

So why, barely two minutes later, does the Doctor use the transporter to teleport two people onto the Earth? Now, I'm used to science fiction being stupid as a turnaround on plot holes but that's just a kick in the teeth. Hrmph.

It did, however, give us the only good line of dialogue throughout the entire programme - the Doctor's frustrated cry of "I can do anything!" before resigning himself to failure. The only nuanced line. I wasn't expecting anything but it was a decent enough present/ apology.