Doctor Who [6]

No it doesnt change my view. My mind is 100% made up. What Rory does or does not say doesnt make it any less fundamentally nasty ageist stuff. But as I said before I wont be discussing the points of this episode that I dislike as I dont want to have to repeat myself.

God Complex, is unpleasant to watch. I find it grating and absurd but not in a good way. I dont like the atmosphere and its more of the 2nd rate boring old horror stuff seen a thousand times before and much better. The 'monster' is underwhelming and the characters unpleasant. Boy its bad. I dont really care for the pc undertones either.

I wasnt thinking at all about the ageist issue and have nothing more to add on that matter.

I meant how the Doctor puts Rory in a mirror position to the one he was in with Rose and how that changes their understanding of each other.
When Rory says "This isn't fair. You're turning me into you?" He is exactly right, that is exactly what is happening- and by making Rory make that decision Rory understands the Doctor under the happy go lucky outward exterior better than most other companions ever do. And better than Amy does.
I thought that aspect of the episode was the outstanding moment, and is brilliantly played by Arthur and Matt.

The monster in God Complex is a classic Who monster- it looks a lot better than the original I promise you. But being worshipped and feeding on belief is what they do.

Spoiler:

Petty, just watched the river song story.... I must of cried several times. It is really interesting to watch, they were a few little bits I hadn't twigged to how they fit in the time line so it was good to see them here and also how complete the timeline was from the start. As you have said it says a lot for Alex Kingston's performance that the flow of familiarity is spot on, at no point does it feel out of place with her timeline when watched in this order. I'd always found the easy relationship she had with Amy and Rory a little strange at times, but from this perspective it makes sense. And the whole story just makes silence in the library even more heartbreaking.

question: do you think Moffat will leave her gone after the goodbye in the last clip, is she coming back for the next two or will he keep her around periodically for the 12th doctor to argue with?

Anyways, thanks for sharing. Really enjoyed it

I think as far as Moffat is currently concerned that was Rivers farewell.
But he has said in interviews that she has met other Doctors than 10 and 11.
And as 10 is the youngest she has seen him they must be future versions- so that door is open.

"were a few little bits I hadn't twigged to how they fit in the time line so it was good to see them here"

I was much the same, despite the fact I edited it together- I was so focused on making something watchable and getting everything in the right place that it wasnt until I watched it back complete that I really started to have 'ahh, I get that now" moments as certain things slotted into place.
For me one of the tricky things with River is the apparent inconsistency of her actions- the older River of Time Angels in series 5 is a far cry from the emotional young one of the Wedding of River Song in series 6.
How Alex kept it all straight when filming I dont know but she did a superb job of getting Rivers age and therefore emotional state across at the right time perfectly.

This is worth a watch fro completionists- The Doctors Daeth- a two part epiosde of the Sarah Jane Adventures- the spin off kids show helmed by RTD featuring 4th Doctor companion Sarah Jane Smith, played by the late great Elizabeth Sladen.

Its set after the end of series 5 and is particualry notable for two things- it features not one but two former companions, Sarah Jane and Jo Grant, assisstant to the third Doctor- and its the only time RTD has written the 11th Doctor (in my view doesnt quite nail him in some hard to define way).
But a curio worth a watch for the Who completist.

I hear through the grapevine that the Twelfth Doctor will be announced this Sunday (August 4) during a live show on BBC One.  However, the big news outlets are keeping quiet because apparently they weren't supposed to announce the announcement until later tonight, but someone slipped up.

wheres Petty?? he will get ants in his pants to hear this news.  

But its going to be Joe Gilgun so its not a surprise.  

Im here- being trying to dig behind this rumour but no luck- there is no hint of it on official sites- it seems to have stemmed from Doctor Who TV site- which says -

'A special programme will air this Sunday 4 August at 7pm on BBC1 entitled Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor. A deliberate disposable repeat of Celebrity Mastermind is currently listed in the timeslot.
The show is going to be filmed in front of a live studio audience with Zoe Ball unveiling the next Doctor. The show will also feature interviews with past Doctors and companions.'


Now the title of this show -Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor.- is awful and cheesy and makes it sound like one of those appalling viewer vote shows for a new Dorothy for Wizard of Oz.  
And Zoe Ball? When was th elast time she presented anything of note? I thought she'd been forcibly retired, doesn't she normally do the crappy BBC2 spin off show to Strictly Come Dancing?
If this is true I will be pretty disappointed they've chosen to announce it in such a seemingly cheesy fashion.

On related news a new front runner has emerged in voting patterns in the past few days sparking rumours he has been offered the part -Peter Capaldi- he was the head of the Roman family in Fires of Pompeii with 10 and Donna, and he was also in Torchwood as a government minister- but he s best known as ultra violent sweary Malcolm Tucker in the Thick of It- a very good actor but I would think the BBC would be hesitant about casting someone that if a child googles on youtube they are likely to get a tirade of what Malcom calls "violent sexual imagery" in sweariness form.

he is SO wrong for the part. Its not him. Its Joe. dammit.  

Idris Elba for Twelfth Doctor!

OMG! YES!

Idris would be cool, I like him, I wonder if hes too laconic and cool though? I cant imagine Idris doing childlike and whimsical, it would be a very different style, but maybe thats a good thing.

Yeah, I'd rather see someone different who would hopefully make Moffat stretch his writing wings beyond white male protagonists aged 25-35, but I don't really watch Who so it doesn't affect me.

"Change my dear. And not a moment too soon.'- a change of style is likely. The last equally as lived in and alien Doctor was the 4th- they followed him with the celery wearing, cricket playing pacifist 5th Doctor- completely different in style.

Capaldi could be good, he is an excellent actor and an older Doctor might make for a nice change of drama, I think Eccelston has been the oldest NuWho Doctor to date.
Although I was hoping theyd go for a relative unknown.

but I don't really watch Who so it doesn't affect me.- Eldo

And one day you will be punished for your sins!

Capaldi is not going to happen. For one big reason. They cant have a sexy young female assistant, it would open a bag all manner of difficult PC situations. I reckon its going to be someone slightly older than Smith but not that much. The assistant might be Black or Asian or Chinese.

No but they could have a sexy hero male assistant- which is what the show used to do when the Doctor was older- give the action stuff to the younger male companion.
Also gives Clara someone to flirt with.

make Moffat stretch his writing wings beyond white male protagonists aged 25-35- ELdo

Bit unfair there- Moffat started out writing for 12-20 year olds with Press Gang. Which was a BAFTA award winning show written for teenagers.
He the wrote Joking Apart- inspired by his own releationships difficulties and his divorce- it won two emmys and the Rose of Montreux.
His next venture was a sitcom Coupling, not dissimilar to Friends in many ways in that it was about a group of 20 somethings.
He then did Jekyll, a retelling and modern take on The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with James Nesbitt in the lead (hardly a 20-25 year old).

And then there is Sherlock and Who to bring it up to date.

SHERLOCK

I had forgotten about her. Will she stay on with the new Doctor? they may not have chemistry. I think it would be good to get away from a sexy assistant and go for a tomboy or a punk rocker or someone a bit odd and quirky that way they could get away with an older Doctor without it looking creepy.

Yes she is confirmed for the next series. I would expect auditions will include auditions with her.

“It was unbelievably tough actually making the 50th,” Moffat said. “It was extraordinarily difficult mainly because we were trying to push the boat out and as ever we didn’t have enough money. We were making a feature-length Doctor Who on the schedule and budget for an hour. We’re doing it in 3D on the budget for 2D.”
The show-runner was quick to add, however, that the special – which is being funded by both the BBC and its commercial arm BBC Worldwide – does not suffer from the constraints. “You will not see that on screen,” he says. “It looks amazing.”

When will the BBC start having some faith in scifi as a genre- they just refuse to spend anything on it even when its making them a fortune.  

'Moffat was also asked if he felt any pressure with such a monumental episode:
“It’s always pressure on Doctor Who, it really is. I’m always wary of the episodes where you announce in advance ‘This is a very important episode!’ because it’s up to the audience. [Weeping Angels story] Blink has become my calling card and that was a filler episode to get around a scheduling problem! So I’m very wary of saying this one is really good in advance. I think it’s a lot of fun and I think you’ll see some stuff you haven’t seen before. And you’ll see it in three dimensions if you don’t mind the headache and glasses.”

Love his honesty about the 3D aspect!  

Pettytyrant101 wrote:make Moffat stretch his writing wings beyond white male protagonists aged 25-35- ELdo

Bit unfair there- Moffat started out writing for 12-20 year olds with Press Gang. Which was a BAFTA award winning show written for teenagers.
He the wrote Joking Apart- inspired by his own releationships difficulties and his divorce- it won two emmys and the Rose of Montreux.
His next venture was a sitcom Coupling, not dissimilar to Friends in many ways in that it was about a group of 20 somethings.
He then did Jekyll, a retelling and modern take on The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with James Nesbitt in the lead (hardly a 20-25 year old).

And then there is Sherlock and Who to bring it up to date.

so basically most of his writing is about White male protagonists between 20-35 like Eldo said.   whats unfair about that?

Press Gang is teenagers- the lead character is female.



Joking Apart is about a man and a woman- both in their 20's thats true, but then it was autobiographical in large part and Moffat was in his 20's when he wrote it

Coupling had several female leads as well as male.

Jekyll had a lead in his late forties.

Who has a main character who is in no way written as a 20 something.

So yeah it is unfair. He has written for different age groups, had strong and prominent female leads and has written for both older and younger actors than what Eldo said.

I think this is the first time I've seen the word "Moffat" appear in the same sentence as "strong female leads".

NB The only Moffat shows I've seen are Who (partially) and Sherlock.

me too.

molly is a great character.