Doctor Who opinions
- Thread starter Kaitou
- Start date
timelordjedi777
Sr Member
Hey if it means the story doesn't feel rushed I'm fine with them all being 2 parters.
Cephus
Master Member
From what I remember, every episode except two are two-parters.
madmikeee
Sr Member
The zygon episodes killed me.. I honestly am surprised I made it through watching both of them. Was happy to see Osgood back. I really think that character has potential. This episode also just reinforced in me how much Clara needs to die. Seriously beyond tired of her. There is no growth, no change no...hell... ANYTHING with her that makes her appealing to me any more. They really should have dumped her in the last christmas episode. Also they changed the opening music a few weeks back to a guitar theme...LOVED that and was utterly disappointed when they didn't keep it. Instead they stick with the christmas bells style....blech.
I'm still really hopeful that something will happen, or is happening, that will explain that she is either dead, or dying, like in Jacob's Ladder.
I don't hate the actress or even the character, But they have made her too important. When every episode has to have the part where we learn that the Doctor could never have done ANYTHING without being influenced by his time with Clara, It cheapens the Character of the Doctor. I think they did it right last season, with the scene in the barn in 'Listen', but now they've taken it too far.
I get the feeling that Capaldi's Doctor is being crippled since he's not developing in himself, he's being turned into what Clara wants in a Doctor.
I don't hate the actress or even the character, But they have made her too important. When every episode has to have the part where we learn that the Doctor could never have done ANYTHING without being influenced by his time with Clara, It cheapens the Character of the Doctor. I think they did it right last season, with the scene in the barn in 'Listen', but now they've taken it too far.
I get the feeling that Capaldi's Doctor is being crippled since he's not developing in himself, he's being turned into what Clara wants in a Doctor.
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madmikeee
Sr Member
I have been thinking similarly since the middle of his first season as The Doctor. It went from Clara being an odd little mystery to her being the star. The show should just be named "Clara Oswald and occasionally The Doctor."
madmikeee
Sr Member
Any time Capaldi gets to strut his stuff I enjoy it. But when Coleman is on screen with him it's like they forget HE is the main character and let her run the show.
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Hated Noble as a companion. But that was the character, I just found her way too annoying but I agree with your point.
I was the same way about Donna when she was in the Christmas episode. So glad to see her go, But by the end of the fourth series, I was devistated when she 'died'.
I attribute that to the fact that in something like 12 or 13 episodes, we actually saw a character grow & mature, without taking the focus off the Doctor. That's what hurt so bad about him wiping her mind, you knew she was going back to being that horrible person.
That's why I feel what they're doing now is the total opposite. Donna changed by being influenced by her time with the Doctor, for the better. Now, the Doctor is being influenced by his time with Clara, for the worse.:unsure
I attribute that to the fact that in something like 12 or 13 episodes, we actually saw a character grow & mature, without taking the focus off the Doctor. That's what hurt so bad about him wiping her mind, you knew she was going back to being that horrible person.
That's why I feel what they're doing now is the total opposite. Donna changed by being influenced by her time with the Doctor, for the better. Now, the Doctor is being influenced by his time with Clara, for the worse.:unsure
drcraig13
Sr Member
I loved the speech at the end. Capaldi nailed it. You really have to have seen "Day of the Doctor" to really understand it fully. Clara is to important I do give you that. But she is also had a huge influence on 4 lives of the Doctor. I really enjoyed the nod to the War Doctor and if this is setting up for her to have a tragic end and that it will devastate the Doctor and really lead to Capaldi being able to expand his emotional range as the Doctor I am all for it. I have had issues with Moffat the same as everyone else (not as much as Solo ; ) ) but I really did see the cleverness of this episode and I enjoyed it. The last 10 minutes or so are probably some of the best Who I have seen in forever.
I agree... his speech at the end was the best part of Capaldi I've seen all season. Clara on the otherhand... She's cute... clever... but I think it's time she moved on. Maybe drop her off and get a new companion... I say they bring back Donna's dad... I was so hoping he would have been the next companion... he would have been so much fun!
timelordjedi777
Sr Member
I agree bring back Donna's grandad but I also say put Rory's dad in there as well.
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I may be remembering, or interpreting it incorrectly, but wasn't the War Doctor's conversation with Clara in the Black Archive pretty much what made him decide to use The Moment?
Cephus
Master Member
True, but Donna got entirely screwed over by her adventures on the TARDIS. Absolutely none of the companions of late have come out of the experience well. If you see a crazy guy in a blue box, RUN!
Solo4114
Master Member
So, I've now caught up through the Zygons episodes, and I think I'm starting to pin down what I think is wrong with this season.
1. The first episodes in these two parters are usually kind of "meh." Like, at best, they're mildly entertaining, and at worst, they're boring and I find myself mentally checking out entirely. I still watch them because I want to know what's happening at the start of the next episode, but they often don't seem to add very much to the story. In essence, the stories seem like 55-65 min of actual story that you need, but with an additional 30 minutes of blah thrown in. I tend to enjoy the 2nd episodes of these two episode arcs a lot more. But I find myself just blandly ignoring what are supposed to be laugh lines because I'm just not really engaged by the show.
2. Clara is a hindrance to making the Doctor interesting. So far, the best episode of the entire season is the one where she hardly appears at all: The Woman who Lived. That episode was way, way more interesting because of the concepts it dealt with, and how well Maisie Williams played her part. And then Clara shows up in the Zygons episodes and I just find myself bored to tears. And yet, when the Doctor is off palling around with Osgood, things were interesting again (mostly). So, yeah, Clara's a problem now.
3. The problem with Clara isn't just that she pulls focus from the Doctor, but rather that she pulls focus and nothing much comes of it. I know a lot of people really disliked last season, and disliked Clara in it. I was happy to tolerate it, though, and even enjoyed it for two reasons: (1) it was supposed to be her last season, and (2) she really did seem to develop as a character. The season had a clear arc for her journey, and it ended when she walked away from the TARDIS entirely. Now that she's back, though, her character seems totally aimless, and I think a lot of it is because the writers have no clear plan for what to do with her. There's no thru-line to her story, so she either has no character at all and is just kind of...there...doing stuff...or she's inconsistently portrayed with what's come before. The greatest sin, I think, is that the writers have done nothing to show any real impact on her as far as the events of last season. She's just...fine. It's like Danny never existed, she feels no pain from his loss, she has no sense of consequences for her choice to travel with the Doctor. In essence, Clara feels less fully fleshed out this season and more like she's back to being "The Impossible Girl" or just some pawn that the writers can move into position to accomplish a task. I think she really, really needs to go. Don't get me wrong. Jenna Coleman is a terrific actress, but they have zero idea what to do with her now and it's hurting the stories as a whole.
4. This is a subtle point, but the way the Doctor is being portrayed this season is also kind of haphazard and often underwhelming. The whole "shabby granddad" look really does not work this year. I get that Capaldi wanted to do a costume that anyone could do, but it's making the Doctor less distinct. And, unfortunately, the writers aren't giving him enough material like he had at the end of the Zygons arc (which was AMAZING) to offset that. Also, his guitar playing. I get it. The Doctor plays guitar. Also, as someone who can play guitar, I really DON'T appreciate when the producers dub in a piece that is clearly different from what he is playing. Seriously, the Zygons episode opened, I think, with him playing the Star Spangled Banner a la Hendrix...but if you watch his fingers, it's wrong. First, the notes would have been way higher than what we heard. Second, they were playing sustained notes while his fingers are moving on the damn fretboard. I'd love to hear what he originally played, but I guess that's a bit much to ask. Also, I'd like to see him play less. It's becoming a pointless gimmick now. It was cool initially, but it's being overdone. And lose the ****ing sonic specs. They suck. All of this, I think, is making the Doctor less distinctive as a character.
Beyond those issues...I'm just finding it really hard to get excited about the show anymore. I don't look forward to it. I watch it in the hopes that it'll get better, but at best I get a "eh, that wasn't so bad" episode, usually at the 2nd part. I want to keep watching the show, but I want it to do better. Much better, actually. I think, however, that Moffat really needs to go for that to happen.
1. The first episodes in these two parters are usually kind of "meh." Like, at best, they're mildly entertaining, and at worst, they're boring and I find myself mentally checking out entirely. I still watch them because I want to know what's happening at the start of the next episode, but they often don't seem to add very much to the story. In essence, the stories seem like 55-65 min of actual story that you need, but with an additional 30 minutes of blah thrown in. I tend to enjoy the 2nd episodes of these two episode arcs a lot more. But I find myself just blandly ignoring what are supposed to be laugh lines because I'm just not really engaged by the show.
2. Clara is a hindrance to making the Doctor interesting. So far, the best episode of the entire season is the one where she hardly appears at all: The Woman who Lived. That episode was way, way more interesting because of the concepts it dealt with, and how well Maisie Williams played her part. And then Clara shows up in the Zygons episodes and I just find myself bored to tears. And yet, when the Doctor is off palling around with Osgood, things were interesting again (mostly). So, yeah, Clara's a problem now.
3. The problem with Clara isn't just that she pulls focus from the Doctor, but rather that she pulls focus and nothing much comes of it. I know a lot of people really disliked last season, and disliked Clara in it. I was happy to tolerate it, though, and even enjoyed it for two reasons: (1) it was supposed to be her last season, and (2) she really did seem to develop as a character. The season had a clear arc for her journey, and it ended when she walked away from the TARDIS entirely. Now that she's back, though, her character seems totally aimless, and I think a lot of it is because the writers have no clear plan for what to do with her. There's no thru-line to her story, so she either has no character at all and is just kind of...there...doing stuff...or she's inconsistently portrayed with what's come before. The greatest sin, I think, is that the writers have done nothing to show any real impact on her as far as the events of last season. She's just...fine. It's like Danny never existed, she feels no pain from his loss, she has no sense of consequences for her choice to travel with the Doctor. In essence, Clara feels less fully fleshed out this season and more like she's back to being "The Impossible Girl" or just some pawn that the writers can move into position to accomplish a task. I think she really, really needs to go. Don't get me wrong. Jenna Coleman is a terrific actress, but they have zero idea what to do with her now and it's hurting the stories as a whole.
4. This is a subtle point, but the way the Doctor is being portrayed this season is also kind of haphazard and often underwhelming. The whole "shabby granddad" look really does not work this year. I get that Capaldi wanted to do a costume that anyone could do, but it's making the Doctor less distinct. And, unfortunately, the writers aren't giving him enough material like he had at the end of the Zygons arc (which was AMAZING) to offset that. Also, his guitar playing. I get it. The Doctor plays guitar. Also, as someone who can play guitar, I really DON'T appreciate when the producers dub in a piece that is clearly different from what he is playing. Seriously, the Zygons episode opened, I think, with him playing the Star Spangled Banner a la Hendrix...but if you watch his fingers, it's wrong. First, the notes would have been way higher than what we heard. Second, they were playing sustained notes while his fingers are moving on the damn fretboard. I'd love to hear what he originally played, but I guess that's a bit much to ask. Also, I'd like to see him play less. It's becoming a pointless gimmick now. It was cool initially, but it's being overdone. And lose the ****ing sonic specs. They suck. All of this, I think, is making the Doctor less distinctive as a character.
Beyond those issues...I'm just finding it really hard to get excited about the show anymore. I don't look forward to it. I watch it in the hopes that it'll get better, but at best I get a "eh, that wasn't so bad" episode, usually at the 2nd part. I want to keep watching the show, but I want it to do better. Much better, actually. I think, however, that Moffat really needs to go for that to happen.
