Doctor Who Social Club
A community for discussing all things Doctor Who.
Rules
1 Be constructive
All posts/comments must be thoughtful and balanced.
2 Be welcoming
It is important that everyone from newbies to longtime fans feel welcome, no matter their gender, sexual orientation, religion or race.
3 Be truthful
All posts/comments must be factually accurate and verifiable. We are not a place for gossip, rumors, or manipulative or misleading content.
4 Be nice
If a polite way cannot be found to phrase what it is you want to say, don't say anything at all. Insulting or disparaging remarks about any human being are expressly not allowed.
5 Spoilers
Utilize the spoiler system for any and all spoilers relating to the most recently-aired episode. Spoiler protection will not be granted to information that is out in the mainstream media.
6 Keep on-topic
All submissions must be directly about the DW franchise (the shows, movies, books, etc.). Off-topic discussions are welcome at c/Quarks.
7 Meta
Questions and concerns about moderator actions should be brought forward via DM.
Upcoming Episodes
| Date | Episode | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 12-07 | TWB 1x01 | "Homo Aqua" |
| 12-07 | TWB 1x02 | "Plastic Apocalypse" |
| 12-14 | TWB 1x03 | "The Deep" |
| 12-14 | TWB 1x04 | "The Witch of the Waterfall" |
| 12-21 | TWB 1x05 | "The End of the War" |
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I have mixed feelings about this episode. From a nostalgia bait front, it hits just right. Especially the reveals of SJ and K9. Though again, would have been better without the "next time" spoilers. Anthony Head is absolutely perfect for the role - from the downright evil treatment of the kid in care at the start right down to the tempting offer he gives at the final confrontation. There's also a lot of humour sprinkled throughout - Teachers living in the school, "I'm the tin dog ". A really nice moment from the doctor as he reveals how he feels about travelling and being around humans.
However, there's lots that also doesn't really live up to expectations. After the pretty good werewolf creature last episode, the bat gargoyle creatures look lacking in comparison. The bickering throughout just feels awkward and annoying, whether it's between Rose / SJ or Mickey. The climactic school lockdown feels over the top, with music too loud and lots of directorial adrenaline without anything much happening. Other than the teachers being eaten, which almost feels played for laughs, it does not feel like there is enough threat. The God maker feels like it comes out of nowhere and I'm still not really sure what it's about.
There's so many plot holes and annoyances here it almost seems like cheating to list them off, but I'm going to do some anyway. Why is headmaster recommending visitors try the chips, why have a dramatic K9 sacrifice only to resurrect him minutes later, why does the projector screen explode in the classroom, how has only one journalist spotted whats going on, why does a match-the-symbols puzzle game rewrite the kids brains (that's all it was, you could play a flash version of this on the bbc website), why does the whole school explode at the end - wish fulfilment for the episode writer maybe?
All that being said, I still enjoyed this episode for the cross-over of characters and the acting from everyone involved. At the end I am glad that SJ got to keep a K9 (of theseus), and in a way I am also glad that mickey finally joins them in a trio.
Regarding the computer program...I do love a scene where you know some high-tech shit is going down because the characters are mashing the keyboards at an incredible speed.
I both love and hate this. At least here we can hand wave it away as "alien computers"