Moderator Note: This was split off from the DVD thread.
Watch End of Time again.... It was really good! So sad.
MJ
Watch End of Time again.... It was really good! So sad.
MJ
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Doctor Who
- Thread starter QL Damsel
- Start date
Ah... the Doctor Who finale and swan song for David Tennant and Russell Davies...
Russell Davies did an outstanding job bringing the show back, and there have been a ton of great episodes. The Next Doctor (fall 2008) was just OK for me though, as well as the Easter 2009 special. So I wasn't sure what to expect with the 2-part finale.
Frankly, I almost threw the remote at the TV at the end of Part 1 of the End of Time. I thought it was so silly. I guess it just seemed like a "small" episode compared to what we've seen in the past. They spent all the money on the Master effects.
As for Part 2, after the past finales with Davros (omg), I dunno, I guess it was hard to top that. I thought it was pretty good. Emotional bits. Glad he got to tie up most of the loose ends. The bar with Jack and so many characters from the past was silly and fun. At first I thought the Time Lords were being brought back in just a token way, but there was more depth to it than that, which I liked.
I think maybe Davies realized it was time for him to take a break from the show? And I think Tennant left either due to his back problems or simply not wanting to stick around under a new producer and new show runner.
I'm not sure I'm ready for Matt, his new companion, and the new series. The actor playing Doctor Who and the actress playing his companion have a combined age of 50. LOL I guess it's like any new Doctor Who, we have to give them a chance to win our hearts.
Some of the best episodes of the past 4 full years of Doctor Who have been written by Steven Moffat so having him run the show SHOULD be amazing. He's already come up with a new design for the Doctor Who logo (and probably the title sequence) and will be redesigning the interior of the TARDIS. This is both from the destruction at the end of The End of Time and also from a snapshot in a magazine I saw of the new elegant, classical, spiral staircase design of the new TARDIS interior...
Russell Davies did an outstanding job bringing the show back, and there have been a ton of great episodes. The Next Doctor (fall 2008) was just OK for me though, as well as the Easter 2009 special. So I wasn't sure what to expect with the 2-part finale.
Frankly, I almost threw the remote at the TV at the end of Part 1 of the End of Time. I thought it was so silly. I guess it just seemed like a "small" episode compared to what we've seen in the past. They spent all the money on the Master effects.
As for Part 2, after the past finales with Davros (omg), I dunno, I guess it was hard to top that. I thought it was pretty good. Emotional bits. Glad he got to tie up most of the loose ends. The bar with Jack and so many characters from the past was silly and fun.
At first I thought the Time Lords were being brought back in just a token way, but there was more depth to it than that, which I liked.I think maybe Davies realized it was time for him to take a break from the show? And I think Tennant left either due to his back problems or simply not wanting to stick around under a new producer and new show runner.
I'm not sure I'm ready for Matt, his new companion, and the new series. The actor playing Doctor Who and the actress playing his companion have a combined age of 50. LOL I guess it's like any new Doctor Who, we have to give them a chance to win our hearts.
Some of the best episodes of the past 4 full years of Doctor Who have been written by Steven Moffat so having him run the show SHOULD be amazing. He's already come up with a new design for the Doctor Who logo (and probably the title sequence) and will be redesigning the interior of the TARDIS. This is both from the destruction at the end of The End of Time and also from a snapshot in a magazine I saw of the new elegant, classical, spiral staircase design of the new TARDIS interior...
Just a couple of notes: Tennant hurt his back after he announced he was leaving Dr Who.
Also, Davies got to destroy the TARDIS interior because the BBC decided the old one wasn't good enough for HD and gave them the budget to rebuild it. (I suspect that's why Torchwood got blown up as well.)
And I loved that they called Joan's granddaughter Verity. That was such a sweet touch.
I'm looking forward to seeing what Steven Moffat does, but I also wish they'd have tagged Paul Cornell to write another episode. Human Nature / The Family of Blood was amazing.
Also, Davies got to destroy the TARDIS interior because the BBC decided the old one wasn't good enough for HD and gave them the budget to rebuild it. (I suspect that's why Torchwood got blown up as well.)
And I loved that they called Joan's granddaughter Verity. That was such a sweet touch.
I'm looking forward to seeing what Steven Moffat does, but I also wish they'd have tagged Paul Cornell to write another episode. Human Nature / The Family of Blood was amazing.
What saddens me most is that I did not get to spend as much time with "my" Doctor as so many others did.
The first time I saw Doctor Who was a few years ago. It was either on PBS or Sci-Fi Channel. There was nothing to watch, and this strange show looked kind of interesting. It was the first of a two-part story ("The Impossible Planet"/"The Satan Pit"). My mother and I got so involved that we made sure to watch the conclusion. From then on, I would think about the show from time to time, knew that it was playing, but never got around to watching it again.
Over the years I've found that Doctor Who has always been around for me, in one small form or another. I really can't say how long I've known the words "Dalek" (which I *will* admit to initially think was spelt/said "Darlek") and "Davros". I've seen references on various message boards, quotes, etc. I would see commercials on PBS while watching other Brit shows and for some reason never stuck around to watch.
Then came Saturday, August 29, 2009. The semester had only just begun, so with no homework to do and absolutely zilch to watch on TV (having only broadcast TV), I *finally* remembered at just the right time that PBS plays Doctor Who on Saturday nights. So I turned the TV on and was greeted with "The Girl in the Fireplace."
And I was instantly hooked. SO hooked, in fact, that the next day I went trolling Youtube for Doctor Who vids (which I really shouldn't have done, as I spoiled myself to the ending of "Doomsday" and "Journey's End", but *shrugs*).
Then came the quest to get caught up to where the show currently was (at that time, "Planet of the Dead" was the last thing to air).
So, by 11pm on Tuesday, I had finished "The Christmas Invasion." By Friday at 7pm, I'd finished "Runaway Bride". By 11pm on Sunday, a week after I started with the TV movie, I was finished watching all of "nuWho" except for "The Next Doctor" and "Planet of the Dead." Those were finished very soon after.
And then gradually I've been working on Classic Who. I've seen a little less than half of Davison's tenure (I'm leaving the rest for last, as he's tied with Tennant for my absolute favorite Doctor). I've seen the entirety of C. Baker's episodes, and am working through McCoy's right now (I'm up to the end of the first episode of "Happiness Patrol").
I've tried *twice* now to watch "Unearthly Child" but dang if I just can't get myself through it... I will eventually.
So, I've only had around 4-ish months to enjoy "my" Doctor, David Tennant. And really, it's less than that considering I finished the entirety of nuWho in a week.
Thankfully I was able to watch "The End of Time" with a friend I made here who helped to initiate me into the fandom.
I teared up, but surprisingly I didn't cry. Of course, I have a tendency to be less emotional when watching things with other people. I get a feeling when I rewatch it here alone in my apartment, I'm gonna be a REAL mess. (you shoulda seen me the first time I went to see "Princess and the Frog"... What a total sap I've become, LOL)
So, what can I really say about "End of Time"? Not much, because I'm still processing it. I loved it, cheesiness and campiness and all.
The best scenes were between Tennant and Cribbins, for sure. And while I'd kept hoping that we could get DoctorDonna back permanently, I'm fine with Donna just finally finding happiness and, with a little help from a friend, security.
I'm really hoping Moffat might eventually address the identity of "The Woman." Julie Gardner said in the commentary that it was the Doc's mother, but my friend and I and many others prefer to think of her as being Susan. What d'ya'll think?
Joy
The first time I saw Doctor Who was a few years ago. It was either on PBS or Sci-Fi Channel. There was nothing to watch, and this strange show looked kind of interesting. It was the first of a two-part story ("The Impossible Planet"/"The Satan Pit"). My mother and I got so involved that we made sure to watch the conclusion. From then on, I would think about the show from time to time, knew that it was playing, but never got around to watching it again.
Over the years I've found that Doctor Who has always been around for me, in one small form or another. I really can't say how long I've known the words "Dalek" (which I *will* admit to initially think was spelt/said "Darlek") and "Davros". I've seen references on various message boards, quotes, etc. I would see commercials on PBS while watching other Brit shows and for some reason never stuck around to watch.
Then came Saturday, August 29, 2009. The semester had only just begun, so with no homework to do and absolutely zilch to watch on TV (having only broadcast TV), I *finally* remembered at just the right time that PBS plays Doctor Who on Saturday nights. So I turned the TV on and was greeted with "The Girl in the Fireplace."
And I was instantly hooked. SO hooked, in fact, that the next day I went trolling Youtube for Doctor Who vids (which I really shouldn't have done, as I spoiled myself to the ending of "Doomsday" and "Journey's End", but *shrugs*).
Then came the quest to get caught up to where the show currently was (at that time, "Planet of the Dead" was the last thing to air).
So, by 11pm on Tuesday, I had finished "The Christmas Invasion." By Friday at 7pm, I'd finished "Runaway Bride". By 11pm on Sunday, a week after I started with the TV movie, I was finished watching all of "nuWho" except for "The Next Doctor" and "Planet of the Dead." Those were finished very soon after.
And then gradually I've been working on Classic Who. I've seen a little less than half of Davison's tenure (I'm leaving the rest for last, as he's tied with Tennant for my absolute favorite Doctor). I've seen the entirety of C. Baker's episodes, and am working through McCoy's right now (I'm up to the end of the first episode of "Happiness Patrol").
I've tried *twice* now to watch "Unearthly Child" but dang if I just can't get myself through it... I will eventually.
So, I've only had around 4-ish months to enjoy "my" Doctor, David Tennant. And really, it's less than that considering I finished the entirety of nuWho in a week.
Thankfully I was able to watch "The End of Time" with a friend I made here who helped to initiate me into the fandom.
I teared up, but surprisingly I didn't cry. Of course, I have a tendency to be less emotional when watching things with other people. I get a feeling when I rewatch it here alone in my apartment, I'm gonna be a REAL mess. (you shoulda seen me the first time I went to see "Princess and the Frog"... What a total sap I've become, LOL)
So, what can I really say about "End of Time"? Not much, because I'm still processing it. I loved it, cheesiness and campiness and all.
The best scenes were between Tennant and Cribbins, for sure. And while I'd kept hoping that we could get DoctorDonna back permanently, I'm fine with Donna just finally finding happiness and, with a little help from a friend, security.
I'm really hoping Moffat might eventually address the identity of "The Woman." Julie Gardner said in the commentary that it was the Doc's mother, but my friend and I and many others prefer to think of her as being Susan. What d'ya'll think?
Joy
Yes, Christopher Eccelston took off without much of an explanation (Fear of being typecast?) after the 1 season which was really frustrating. He was a darn good Doctor. Fortunately, David Tennant picked up the reins and carried forth.
I was positively bouncing up and down when I saw the preview for the 4th series finale and figured out that it was Davros. Julian did such an amazing job and I felt captured the original character, plus the drawn out history, perfectly.
A very good episode. I do think Doctor Who is probably in very good hands with Steven Moffat. All of the episodes he wrote were tremendous. Fireplace, The Empty Child 2-parter, Blink. Blink is just an awesome episode. Still makes me jump.
Of course my favorite part of that episode is showing it to unsuspecting friends. But my favorite of his by far is the 2-parter "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead". I cannot wait to see River Song again in Series 5.
You've been busy.
Hey if you get a chance, you might like the 1996 American made-for-TV movie of Doctor Who with Paul McGann. Despite some bizarre backstory changes (the Doctor is half-human? um.... no, and the heart of the TARDIS has an Eye of Harmony?), it's actually quite good and he does a phenomenal job playing the Doctor.
Wow, you're a real trooper. I had to force myself to finish Tom Baker's Genesis of the Daleks just to prepare myself to see Davros. Sappy, thin, and cliche, but the core of the story was good.
The Unearthly Child is rough because of how much time is spent with the wild people. You spent a lot of time waiting for the Doctor to be brilliant and get around the silly obstacles. Actually, The Dead Planet (the 6 part Daleks story) is much better. Although it also has an awful lot of padding as well. It would have been much tighter as a 4-parter.
Even watching David Tennant from the beginning, 4 years wasn't long enough.
I thought he was brilliant and will miss him dearly.I too was begging at the screen "cure Donna, you can do it!" but I guess what she got will have to do.
I really am a noob about Doctor Who. Other than the current series and knowledge of some of the basic facts, I've watched less than 1% of the classic Doctor Whos. It doesn't help that the special effects now are so tremendous, and really the acting and writing is 10 times better than it was, that it's just very difficult for me to sit down and watch.
One of the better stories of the Tom Baker era is the Talons of Weng Chiang. Russell Davies considered it one of his inspirations for how his Doctor Who revamp got started.
I figured it was the Doctor's mother too. I think the President's character would have addressed her completely differently if she were Susan, but wouldn't it incredible to have that character come back?
I have not watched the original episodes (other than the 2 stories I mentioned above) so don't know what happened to Susan.
Oh, I am SO eager to see River Song again! It's gonna be interesting to see how Alex Kingston and Matt Smith play off each other, with him being such a youngin'. LOL
When I had my nuWho marathon in August/September, I started with the TV movie, actually. I figured that was really where the "new" Doctor Who truly started. Plus, I'd been extremely intrigued by a few pics I'd seen of the Eighth Doctor, so wanted to see his story. So figured start with Eight, go on to Nine, and then on to Ten.
From what I've read of others talking about Susan in threads concerning The Woman, Susan was left behind on Earth in some future year. So, that could explain why the Woman told Wilf she was "once lost." Though, that could also work for Romana, who, from what I've read, ended up in E-Space (which I really don't know anything about since I've not seen any of Four's tenure yet).
Joy
When I had my nuWho marathon in August/September, I started with the TV movie, actually. I figured that was really where the "new" Doctor Who truly started. Plus, I'd been extremely intrigued by a few pics I'd seen of the Eighth Doctor, so wanted to see his story. So figured start with Eight, go on to Nine, and then on to Ten.
From what I've read of others talking about Susan in threads concerning The Woman, Susan was left behind on Earth in some future year. So, that could explain why the Woman told Wilf she was "once lost." Though, that could also work for Romana, who, from what I've read, ended up in E-Space (which I really don't know anything about since I've not seen any of Four's tenure yet).
Joy
So much speculation about the Woman in White. Based on snippets of interviews with writers I'd read, I assumed it was The Doctor's mother. But that's an open thread for Moffat to pick up. I hope.
For those who enjoyed Paul McGann's stint as The Doctor, he's done several Dr Who audio plays. I believe Big Finsh produced them (they're the people who did the new Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series). BBC7 runs them occasionally, and the cool thing is that you can get most of their content in the US!
bbc.co.uk/bbc7
BBC7 has also run the audio commentary that goes with the Dr Who episodes.
For those who enjoyed Paul McGann's stint as The Doctor, he's done several Dr Who audio plays. I believe Big Finsh produced them (they're the people who did the new Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series). BBC7 runs them occasionally, and the cool thing is that you can get most of their content in the US!
bbc.co.uk/bbc7
BBC7 has also run the audio commentary that goes with the Dr Who episodes.