Re: Doctor Who [4]

by Mrs Figg Sat Apr 06, 2013 1:32 pm

No Eccy? damn. Anyway I dedicated my story to him, he is definately my Doctor. Cool

by Pettytyrant101 Sun Apr 07, 2013 12:49 am

Ok tonight spoiler filled review.

Spoiler:

by Norc Sun Apr 07, 2013 11:37 am

i loved the episode.

by Pettytyrant101 Sun Apr 07, 2013 11:44 am

Its still dividing fans like no other episode I have ever seen- just did a check on the poll on Gallifrey Base- right now for example the two highest set of votes are 389 people have given it an 8 out of 10 and 318 have given it a 3!

by Pettytyrant101 Sun Apr 07, 2013 11:52 am

Spoiler:

by Pettytyrant101 Sun Apr 07, 2013 12:08 pm

Behind the scenes

by Norc Sun Apr 07, 2013 12:09 pm

whaaat?! auton?

by Mrs Figg Sun Apr 07, 2013 12:10 pm

whos the kid in GOT clothes?

by Pettytyrant101 Sun Apr 07, 2013 12:14 pm

The Queen of Years _ a brilliant young actress, she really is astonishingly good and believable, Emilia Jones.

by Pettytyrant101 Sun Apr 07, 2013 1:35 pm

whaaat?! auton?- Norc

The Nesteene Conciousness? The big bad blob of sentient goo in the first episode of Nuwho, Rose.
The plastic it can control are called autons- so the shop store dummies it brings to life are autons.
The 'plastic' version of Rory -the Last Centurion is an auton.

by Kafria Sun Apr 07, 2013 4:25 pm

Interesting reading your thoughts Petty, reaction I have seen has been mixed too and Squach had the insightful " 's alright" as her response.

Spoiler:

by Pettytyrant101 Sun Apr 07, 2013 6:47 pm

Thanks for popping by to share your thoughts Kafria.

Got me thinking about a few things (and I have now seen the ep 3 times and have enjoyed and appreciated it more each time).

Spoiler:

by Kafria Sun Apr 07, 2013 7:23 pm

One question I would like to ask you Kafria is that there was a strong anti-religion theme in this I thought, .........I was just wondering (cause I'm nosey!) as someone of faith how you felt about it.

The honest response to that is it didn't even register as such.

Now I know that sounds like a get out, but the question has set me pondering. It is worth saying at this point that I rarely read whole great themes into things and I am remarkably oblivious to this type of thing. Really. I didn't twig to the underlying themes of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe till in my late teens at uni in a christian college where CSLewis' other writings on faith and christianity were just as talked about. I read through the whole of Pulmans Dark Materials and although I saw some of the allusions I did not on any level get the whole anti religion theme that the author himself is fairly upfront about.

On a more considered note there probably is a reason for this and it no doubt has to do with my faith and my experiences of and opinions of organised religion. Put simply the biggest problem with any faith is often its 'church'. The biggest argument aganist any branch of belief is often the people charged with protecting, prompting and leading those institutions and the way teachings can be twisted to mean 'I think this is right and I can prove it because....'

(I found it quite odd how people have made a big thing of the new popes humble ideas and his refusal of the papal apartments, this is actually as it should be in my eyes ad good on him for sticking to it.)

I don't belief faith is an excuse for not thinking or considering, for denying others the right to think as they will. (After all if god made humans in his image with free will who am I to tell someone they haven't the right to that free will).

I have to say I found your episode quotes an interesting set,

Spoiler:

as in them is contained in many ways one of my strongest ideas of why I believe. It is worth noting that I have always felt like this, but have found that this is not necessarily a new thing. When Christianity first came to britain there was a more celtic doctrine as well as the Roman one that formed the basis of the church which came down to the reformation. As you might expect this celtic christianity drew heavily on finding god through nature and the wonder of the earth itself as opposed to the roman doctrine of finding god through chosen individuals (I know I am simplyfying here), I guess in a way this is a view I identify strongly with.

Add to this the science part of my brain which believes we should always question and investigate and it has to be said I often find these 'anti religion' themes stimulating and interesting, but not ultimately threatening or offensive.

So the long answer agrees with the short, I didn't really see it as such.

Sorry for the length, but as is often the case you set me thinking. Very Happy

by Norc Sun Apr 07, 2013 7:33 pm

Pettytyrant101 wrote:whaaat?! auton?- Norc

The Nesteene Conciousness? The big bad blob of sentient goo in the first episode of Nuwho, Rose.
The plastic it can control are called autons- so the shop store dummies it brings to life are autons.
The 'plastic' version of Rory -the Last Centurion is an auton.

oh.. and people died? maybe there is a connection..

by Pettytyrant101 Sun Apr 07, 2013 7:40 pm

The bit you quote Kafria I also found interesting due to the fact that takes what on the surface sunds like a religous belief- the preciouness of life (the base argument of pro-life movements) and strips it of religion and makes the wonder and the purpose of it awe instead of God- that the unlikeness of the self exisiting at all, its uniquness, is of itself all you need to give life purpose.

Incidentally I am now certain this a very good episode- that this converstion centers round the questions it has raised is proof enough for me! Nod

Norc- yup people died. We saw people dying in the scene with Rose's mum shopping. And that was just one street.

by Kafria Sun Apr 07, 2013 7:50 pm

...is of itself all you need to give life purpose

I wouldn't disagree with this, although I would argue that an awful lot of people, both religious or not end up looking for something else to dedicate their lives to: to give them meaning or purpose (waffy words...not exact eough to differentiate properly)

Now I'm pondering the meaning or meaning and purpose when applied to peoples perceptions of their lives.... it may be a long thinky night! Wink

by Norc Sun Apr 07, 2013 7:53 pm

Pettytyrant101 wrote:
Norc- yup people died. We saw people dying in the scene with Rose's mum shopping. And that was just one street.

Doctor Who [4] - Page 26 Tumblr_static_url-2

by Pettytyrant101 Sun Apr 07, 2013 7:56 pm

See, good Who episode if it makes us think, and at my age too. Mad

an awful lot of people, both religious or not end up looking for something else to dedicate their lives to: to give them meaning or purpose- Kafira

Thats sort of the great thing at the heart of the Doctor- thats him- a man in search of a purpose- he has nothing, noone will ever spend the rest of their lives with him- as he says in that brilliant speech which is in my spoilered sig;

Spoiler:

He knows there is nothing else, he knows it all doesnt matter by the end- and yet he still spends his existence helping, saving and fighting the monsters in the universe.

Laughing

Norc

by chris63 Mon Apr 08, 2013 3:09 am

by chris63 Mon Apr 08, 2013 3:10 am

by Pettytyrant101 Mon Apr 08, 2013 4:11 pm

Yeah its a fine speech, but its the delivery that gives me goosebumps when I watch it. (You really think Matt cant act mrs Fgg? Shocked

)

by Pettytyrant101 Mon Apr 08, 2013 5:08 pm

Anyone else watched either of the new eps- Bellls of st john or rings of Akhnaten?

by Pettytyrant101 Mon Apr 08, 2013 5:19 pm

The AI result (Appreciation Index) for Rings of Akhnaten are in- it got a 84.
So the voting audience for the BBC didnt seem to have the split reaction to it the fans have had- although its down a couple of points onthe Who average so it may have had some effect).

(Probably says something about modern tv that the highest AI rating of the day was 87- for a repeated episode of Dads Army from the 1970's!)

Also some more cast news for the 50th Anniversary ep.

Spoiler:

by Pettytyrant101 Mon Apr 08, 2013 6:58 pm

A very nice interview with Carol Ane Ford (Susan the 1st Doctros granddaughter) in the Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/doctor-who/9975948/Doctor-Who-It-destroyed-my-acting-career.html

Although the headlne is typical newspaper!

Some bits I found interesting-

'It was instant madness,” says Carole Ann Ford, remembering the reaction when Doctor Who was first broadcast, in November 1963. “There was nothing like it on television. We could go anywhere in the universe, and we gave them great cliffhangers. It was amazing, like being a pop star. I couldn’t go down the street for a bottle of milk any more.”

At that moment, it was just another job,” says Ford, who was 20 at the time. “You learn your lines, you turn up, you don’t bump into the furniture and you take your money, you know? It soon became fairly clear that it was more than that, though.”

There was a row at the BBC. “A lot of people did not want Doctor Who to go ahead. The people high up were against putting money into children’s programmes, which is how they considered it at the time.”

An episode was made but never broadcast. “The sets were very wobbly. They didn’t think it was going to last,” she says. “The Tardis interior was very delicate. You could practically blow on the walls like the wolf after the little piggies and it would all fall down.”

“I was a very good dancer and had been an acrobat. They told me Susan was going to be an Avengers-type girl – with all the kapow of that – plus she would have telepathetic powers. She was going to be able to fly the Tardis as well as her grandfather and have the most extraordinary wardrobe. None of that happened.”

(that sounds to me like a description of River almost!)

"All my differentness was cut out. They made me wear horrible little trousers, not even funky jeans. Horrible little flat shoes. I don’t know why they did this to me.”

“Bill and I put together a back story because we had to. You can’t act something unless you know what is behind it. We created the fact that he had done something to annoy the other Time Lords and they decided he had to go.”

So, having made such an impression on the nation’s youth, why did she quit? “It had become so repetitive. For a large part of the time, Susan was arriving somewhere with her grandfather and the other two [teachers who came along for the ride], being told not to get into danger, having them come and get her out of danger, then flying off again. In the meantime, I was watching visiting actors do really interesting stuff.”

She watches the modern show with envy. “Sometimes I see Matt Smith’s Doctor look at these disgusting alien creatures in front of him and say something like, 'Oh, you are beautiful.’ It would have been so nice to say that occasionally, instead of running away shouting, 'Aagh!’”

The women are much stronger now, aren’t they? “How I envy them when I look at what they do, and what I had to do.” They are also more powerful in another way. “They do get very sexy, don’t they? I never had such fun in my time.”

Given the frustrations of her old career, how did she feel when Doctor Who was revamped in 2005?

“I was full of trepidation when they started it up, but within seconds… yay! It was resurrection. It was wonderful.”

“I wish William Hartnell was here to share in all this. Even before we started he said, 'This is going to go on for ever.’ He was right, bless him. He loved it so much.”

by Pettytyrant101 Mon Apr 08, 2013 7:32 pm

BBC America have put up 'The Origins of Clara'- basically the opening of the last epiosde- the story of the leaf. Or should that be the story of how the leaf got its story? scratch