Dr Who Series 4!

[Chancellor Valium]

Well, it's upon us again. Take that how you will...

Partners in Crime has aired, the opening episode by Russell T. Davies. I wouldn't waste 45 minutes, if you haven't seen it. "Monumentally boring" is a good description.

Next week, Carry On Pompeii.

[Burt]

OH DEAR GOD!
KILL THE CHANCELLOR!

I'm sorry, but I thought that it was... one of the single best things I've seen this year - This decade - This Life!
Plotwise.. yeah yeah.. weird, clever, very Doctor Who... but the real winner for me?
Catherine Tate

That woman OWNS ME

You know how they say when you don't look forward to something, it usually turns out good? and when you really look forward to something it turns out crap? I really, really, really, really, really looked forward to this - and it was so very good.

That whole through the window silent bit cracked me up..
Donna's "Aaahh you're wearing the same suit...... - Don't you ever change?!!"
The fact she'd already 'Packed' for her trip in the TARDIS.. like the first person ever to do that!
Genius!

Of course, there was 'The moment' too, near the end. That was unexpected. And fantastic too.

I love this show. I have always loved it. But somehow, this series, I love it even more.

[Burt]

So, um, yeah.. looking back at the first two posts - you kinda have the 'two opposite ends of the spectrum', don't you?

[Chancellor Valium]

Originally Posted by Burt

OH DEAR GOD!
KILL THE CHANCELLOR!

I'm sorry, but I thought that it was... one of the single best things I've seen this year - This decade - This Life!
Plotwise.. yeah yeah.. weird, clever, very Doctor Who... but the real winner for me?
Catherine Tate

That woman OWNS ME

Shall we go through the list?

Plot - silly.
Dialogue - GRUGH
Pacing - What pacing?
Characterisation - 2-D
Special Effects - I could do better in GMax than those Flumps, and the ship was uninspired at best
Acting: Halfway-decent, to be fair.

[PointyHairedJedi]

Not... impressed. No. Not at all impressed.

[Zeke]

What was it about April 4 this year? For some reason they stacked two premieres (DW and BSG) and one finale (Torchwood) on the same day. And naturally I couldn't catch any of them... not that this will stop me from legally doing so legally in this legal day and age.

[Burt]

Originally Posted by Chancellor Valium

Shall we go through the list?

Plot - silly.
Dialogue - GRUGH
Pacing - What pacing?
Characterisation - 2-D
Special Effects - I could do better in GMax than those Flumps, and the ship was uninspired at best
Acting: Halfway-decent, to be fair.

Yeah, but in all fairness, you could be talking about most of Doctor Who with that list...

[Chancellor Valium]

Only when it comes to the New Drivel. pre-1993, these problems tended not to turn up in the same episode - and plotting and dialogue issues were largely restricted to stories by Pip and Jane Baker.

[Burt]

I watched it again today. I love it even more. I just think Tate works so well against The Doctor, snappy one liners and the fact she's not love-sick for him. Funny enough though, most people I've spoken to aren't that bothered (No pun intended) about her. I guess it is just me that likes her!

[PointyHairedJedi]

Up Pompeii!

I liked bits of it, and it was a better episode than the season opener, but it was still very uneven. Donna has the makings of a good companion though, I'll give it that.

[whoiam]

Just been watching the Sontaran Experiment? Or whatever the title was. The first part, at any rate.

Well, the killer in this one seem a little more... threatening... then the little fat monsters in the season opener (and less like flaming ents then the things in Pompeii), which is always a plus. Martha's cameo inspired a major 'here we go again' for anyone that remembers Rose's supposedly final episode...

Much as I hate to say it, apart from their stupid little wardance at the end, the Sontarens actually made more interesting villains then the cybermen two seasons ago. Probably felt right for padding the whole thing out to two-parter length, but wardances went out of fashion on earth for a reason (i.e. they're only effective against opposition that's close enough to see you, and opposition close enough to see you will just shoot you whilst you're prancing around.) Not the sort of thing you'd expect the greatest soldiers in the universe to indulge in. That said, someone who's watched the original series will probably tell me it's as traditional as 'EXTERMINATE!'.

Plot - approaching average.
Dialogue - so-so
Pacing - If you're sticking in a clip show, you don't have enough plot.
Characterisation - 2.5-D - I have to feel UNIT was somewhat shortchanged in this regard, but the others did as well as any do in a single episode.
Special Effects - Pretty few needed, and they were done well enough.
Acting: Seems to be improving as the season goes on.

[PointyHairedJedi]

It was better, much better. Still some wobbles, and that one particular "I'm leaving you" scene felt incredibly forced and subsequently wasn't very funny, but on the whole I think it was more reminiscent of adventures of old.

[Chancellor Valium]

Actually, the war-dance is one of the Zygma Experiments' novelties, it seems, and really kaiboshed the episode, I felt. It removed what drama there was and made me embarrassed to be watching it.

I must agree with both the above commentaries, but I thought I'd add that Tennant's cockneyisms are still irritating, and that the badminton racket was a fun, nice thing thrown in - in all its appearances.

[Burt]

Oh god, you bunch of miserable old gits – Cheer up! Don’t be so hard on the show. I thought it was fantastic! The ending was dodgy, ok, but the rest was enjoyable. The second part was however, I found to be fan-bloody-tastic! That Rose flash? Priceless. The Doctor’s “Are you my mummy?” joke, Brilliant. That stupid nerd’s bit at the end… “Sonta-HA!” was great too. Oh, and they referenced the Brigadier too! I think that episode is my fav so far. And, a twist ending too!
I couldn’t really ask for more.

[Chancellor Valium]

Yes - let's abandon all these rubbish ideas like 'quality', and go and read some lovely, heart-warming Ctrl-Alt-Del prolefeed.

[whoiam]

The thought occurs that had the device posessed, say, a 5 second delay, they could have easily triggered it and teleported down again. Possibly not even that. Back in the new season 1 they showed the Doctor being able to slow down time temporarily in need - surely in that state it's possible to trigger teleport and device roughly simultaneously?

Then there's Torchwood's giant alien-blasting laser thing. Who in their right minds would dismantle that even after the cybermen fiasco? Surely UNIT or the remnants of Torchwood had access to it *before* having to resort to nukes?

Then again, UNIT's equipping it's soldiers with sontaran-tech-proof bullets and taking down the superior foe is one of it's finest moments. Slightly jarring compared to the fact that after the first patrol of sontarans got taken down, the others should have been shooting humans on sight (and reflex). Great soldiers, supposedly, and instead they fare worse than a human opposing force would have done once their bullet-proof tech is negated.

Giving the genius access to actual terraforming equipment if you weren't planning to let him use it is also an act of some stupidity. Surely you just give him a training sim and promise the real tech will be waiting on the new planet? Instead of handing him weapons and then telling him to his face (whilst he's standing next to a teleport pod) that you were never going to keep your bargain with him?

Then the fireball to burn off the gas... A fireball to burn off a gas that was filling up most of the atmosphere. And choking people at ground level. Mystical alien tech, yes, but *something* should have at least been scorched by that. And by 'something', read 'everything on earth in direct contact with air'.

That little frame of Rose? Quite pointless in the context of the story. Unless she's developing psychic powers that can cross dimensions that supposedly need the power of a supernova to communicate between, it's likely just to make her final return even more brainless than I suspect it will be.

The doctor, on the other hand, did brilliantly. Bit of a shame that they had to neuter the Sontarans to get the Doctor to win... would have loved to see some version of this where the foes didn't go so far out of their way to hand the doctor weapons and *still* lost.

Finally, this weekend we get the first appearance of the Doctor's Daughter (according to the trailers). I'd have preferred having Susan back myself, but that's just personal preference. The character might be interesting. On the other hand, it might just be an excuse to have someone do a lot of backflips.

*all ranted out now*

[Burt]

Ok, 'The unicorn and the wasp'.
Agian, I thought it was fantastic!
Huge Agatha Christie fan. The whole idea for the episode was bloody amazing - setting it in her missing 10 days. And that they kept dropping in the names of her books! I just loved every minute of it. Same goes for 'The doctor's Daughter'. I admit, I wasn't really looking forward to it. But the whole episode was just music to me. I loved how Donna was the one that figured it all out. How many companions explain whats going on to the doctor??
I still stand by my claim. Donna is one of the best companions, and this is one of the best series! (Dodges rotten fruit)

[Chancellor Valium]

This weak, no soap - but Lawrence Miles drives the replacement bus service in style: http://beasthouse-lm2.blogspot.com/2...week-only.html.

[PointyHairedJedi]

The Agatha Christie one was pretty good, but Saturday's was rubbish. Didn't make any sense at all. What the hell was Wogan doing there, anyway? I mean, sure, it was great having a much longer episode, but not if the Doctor wasn't actually going to appear in it - at first I thought it was going to be like 'Blink, but no. It was totally bizarre, and as for the plot... well.

Interesting link, Valium I've only heard of the guy vaguely, and the drama he refers to I hadn't heard about at all, so definitely interesting.

[whoiam]

Oddly enough, no rotten fruit heading Burt's way yet. Look back at my long complaint against sections of the 2nd part of the Sontaren arc. Now read my complaints about the Unicorn and the Wasp:

The Doctor really should have concentrated on telling Donna what he needed first, and then mocking her wild guesses afterwards.

Quite an improvement, no?

Going back slightly to the Doctor's Daughter, I have to admit that, again, I felt it was an improvement on the earlier episodes. About the only parts that really grate are the Doctor, who should know intimately just what Jenny's body is capable of, forgetting that she can do things like regenerate or (temporarily) slow (her perception of) time to get past environmental dangers. Considering that he's been declared dead by human doctors before, he should have known better than to rely on Martha's diagnosis.

Anyway, in conclusion: Season's been improving, hope it keeps it up - it'll be throwing something truly exceptional at us through the middle of the season if it does.

(before we go back to the series' Patented Flashy Davies Series End. Complete with Reset Button.)