'Anyone for a jelly baby ? ' - Doctor Who discussion thread.

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  • edited September 2014 Posts: 12,837
    I can't really get on with the new doctor. I think the character works in the lighter episodes because him being a dick has comedy value (like in the Robin Hood one) but when he's being a dick in the darker episodes he just comes across as, well, a dick. I like how he's ruthless and that he kills people now but I think for an anti hero to work, he/she needs to be likeable and so far, I don't think the new doctor is very likeable.

    Also, why's he such a twat when it comes to soldiers all of a sudden? First he didn't let the girl in the 2nd episode go with him (I forgot the characters name, Zawe Ashton played her) and now he's being a dick to Danny because he was in the army. It's something that takes a lot of bravery and it should be admired not frowned upon, and I think the writers should think about that. Also just comes across as hypocritical since he was a soldier for ages (and he killed literally millions) and even now he's not a soldier a lot of his friends were soldiers (Captain Jack, Noel Clarke, etc). Plus it's a kids show at the end of the day and having him hate soldiers doesn't send out a great message to a little boy or girl with a dad in the military does it?

    Also I think he's too quiet and softly spoken (I can't understand him sometimes). He seems too restrained, doesn't really have much prescence imo. Shame because I loved Capaldi in other stuff (Skins, The Thick Of It) but I'm disappointed in his doctor and I had high hopes for him.

    I also think the series as a whole has been a let down. A big step down from last year. Not crap but just a bit dull and underwhelming. The only episode I really liked was Listen (which was brilliant to be fair). Deep Breath was just boring, the second episode was decent but nothing special, the third was just a bit cringey and the heist one felt rushed and contrived to me.

    I think the best thing about it at the moment is Jenna Coleman. She's really fit and she's a really good actress. If she is leaving this year then it'd be great if EON managed to get her for Bond 24.
  • Just watched The Caretaker, found Neelix irritating... Sorry wrong show.

    Something just does not sit right with me with Capaldis doctor, and Danny Pink seems a bit of a control freak (Possible villain!) The script appears to be forcing scenarios, example the Doctors dislike of Mr Pink or Soldiers...

  • MayDayDiVicenzoMayDayDiVicenzo Here and there
    edited September 2014 Posts: 5,080
    Loved it. Best episode so far.

    1. The Caretaker (8.5/10)
    2. Robot of Sherwood (7/10)
    3. Into the Dalek (6.5/10)
    4. Time Heist (4/10)
    5. Listen (3/10)
    6. Deep Breath (2/10)
  • Byof1c8IQAElhc1.png could do with this on my door.
  • Posts: 12,506
    Enjoyed "THE CARETAKER" alot. The humour had me in stitches at times.
  • MayDayDiVicenzoMayDayDiVicenzo Here and there
    Posts: 5,080
    Yes, they got the humour spot on.
    Then if you compare the humour in this ep with Deep Breath...
  • SandySandy Somewhere in Europe
    Posts: 4,012
    I really liked this last episode! It reminded me a bit of The Web Planet (First Doctor) episode.
  • Posts: 112
    Sandy wrote: »
    I really liked this last episode! It reminded me a bit of The Web Planet (First Doctor) episode.
    Well hopefully it's better than The Web Planet. I still have to wait a few hours till it airs on BBC America...

  • SandySandy Somewhere in Europe
    Posts: 4,012
    ohfilms1 wrote: »
    Sandy wrote: »
    I really liked this last episode! It reminded me a bit of The Web Planet (First Doctor) episode.
    Well hopefully it's better than The Web Planet. I still have to wait a few hours till it airs on BBC America...

    The Web Planet is on a league of its own. It cannot be judged by regular standards and it cannot be compared with any other episode. It's so strange that it's a work of art!
  • Posts: 5,815
    Sandy wrote: »

    The Web Planet is on a league of its own. It cannot be judged by regular standards and it cannot be compared with any other episode. It's so strange that it's a work of art!

    Yeah, it was a strange episode. The strangest thing about it was the fact that it was a metaphor for cancer. No really, the clues are all there, and they didn't make an effort to hide them. But still, one has to wonder what kind of products all the people concerned were snorting, drinking or mainlining when they wrote, approved, and directed the episode.

    As for tonight's episode : nice moral dilemma here. Makes us wonder what we would have done : lights on or out ? I would like to believe I would have made the right choice, but I doubt it. After all, I'm human.

    As for the next episode,
    Galaxy Express 999
    , that's all I'm saying. But hey, at least they copied from a master.

  • Posts: 112
    Sandy wrote: »
    ohfilms1 wrote: »
    Sandy wrote: »
    I really liked this last episode! It reminded me a bit of The Web Planet (First Doctor) episode.
    Well hopefully it's better than The Web Planet. I still have to wait a few hours till it airs on BBC America...

    The Web Planet is on a league of its own. It cannot be judged by regular standards and it cannot be compared with any other episode. It's so strange that it's a work of art!

    Okay... I do agree with you on that one.
  • Posts: 7,653
    Clara was an annoying twit tonight, how could her Doctor behave the way he did well that is simple little human time to grow up and recognize that the human values are just not the best there is.

    Capaldi's Doctor is getting better each week.

    While Mr Pink and Clara can take a flying ..... of a cliff.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,894
    Another cracking episode. Some viewers have commented that they think he acts like a dick, but I like this abrasive side to the Doctor. More of this, please.

    ***1. Kill The Moon***
    2. Listen
    3. Into The Dalek
    4. The Caretaker
    5. Time Heist
    6. Robot Of Sherwood
    7. Deep Breath
  • MayDayDiVicenzoMayDayDiVicenzo Here and there
    Posts: 5,080
    While I think it got off to a slow start, the latter half of the episode was brilliant! Very good indeed.
    It reminded me of Water of Mars, to an extent...

    1. Kill the Moon
    2. The Caretaker
    3. Robot of Sherwood
    4. Into the Dalek
    5. Time Heist
    6. Listen
    7. Deep Breath
  • I really liked the episode but I still don't really like the new doctor.

    I think the best way to explain why I don't like him would be to compare him to the main character in Moffat's other show, Sherlock. Sherlock is a dick. He's rude, inconsiderate, etc. But he's also a likeable and multi layered character. We saw different sides of him. So far, the only side of the 12th Doctor we've seen is the side where he's a nasty miserable bastard. He doesn't have charm, likeability or any of that. Again I'll compare him to another TV character: Walter White. He slowly turned from an anti hero to a villain (and then back again at the end) but even when he was doing bad stuff (blowing up an old peoples home, poisoning a little kid) I still found myself rooting for him. And that's because he was likeable and multi layered. Yes at that point he was pretty evil but there were still more sides to him than that, he still had good qualities (he loved his family and cared about Jesse) showed a range of emotions and in his own twisted mind, he'd convinced himself that he was still the good guy, that he was still doing all this for the right reasons.

    I think the problem with Peter Capaldi's doctor isn't that he's "darker", in fact I think that's a good thing. I think the problem is that there isn't much more to the character than that. It's "look how dark and moody he is" and that's it. He's too one dimensional, there's no depth. He's like a caricature because they haven't shown any other side to him.

    I think with the other Doctors the characters were deeper than that. Look at Christopher Eccleston (still the best imo). He was darker and more alien and all the rest of it but he was also likeable, and a multi layered character. He was light hearted and jokey on the surface but underneath all this was an angry damaged war veteran. He slagged off humans but this was because he got frustrated and despite this you could tell he cared about them. With Capaldi's doctor I'm not sure why he's even bothering saving the world all the time because it seems like he couldn't give a shit. He's very detatched, emotionless and uncaring which means Clara has to pretty much carry the show and provide all the emotional weight while he stands there looking permanently angry and saying stuff that shows how dark and moody he is.

    One more comparison: Edward Kenway from Assassin's Creed. He was a dick. He was selfish and inconsiderate. Right at the start of the game he fucks over the assassins (the good guys) because he thought he'd be able to make a bit of cash. He might have become a pirate with honourable intentions (to give his wife a better life) but he stayed in the Carribean long after he'd made a fortune because he was motivated by greed (so he's actually similar to Walter White in a way). Eventually in the end he redeems himself and makes up for his mistakes but even before that, even when he's still a pirate who's screwing things up for the Assassins, he's still likeable and he isn't just a dick, he's still caring, charismatic, brave, etc. He's multi layered.

    If you can't be arsed to read all that then I'll sum it up for you: I don't dislike Capaldi's doctor because he's darker and a bit of a dick. I dislike him because that's all there is to him and he's unlikeable as a result.

    I do have more to add to this but West Ham vs QPR kicks off at quarter past so I'm gonna leave it at that for now. I might add to this later.

    1) Listen
    2) Kill The Moon

    3) Into The Dalek
    4) Robots Of Sherwood
    5) Time Heist
    6) The Caretaker
    7) Deep Breath
  • Posts: 6,432
    Struggling to get into Capaldi's Doctor also, think you are right his character is not very likeable. I am finding it difficult to care about any of the characters, the writers have now felt the need to make Clara irritating. Clara for me up until Kill the Moon was the best thing about New Who season 8.
  • Posts: 12,506
    Looking forward to the next episode! Bring it on! As foe Capaldi? I have to say that since Dr Who was forgive the pun "Regenerated" all those years ago with Christopher Ecclestone who i have to say was great. I think Capaldi is going to be my personal favourite by a long way!
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,816
  • Posts: 6,432
    The deadly Assasin? I can't play the video on tablet.
  • Posts: 7,653
    The deadly Assasin? I can't play the video on tablet.

    I have the dvd and it plays swell. ;)
  • Posts: 6,432
    SaintMark wrote: »
    The deadly Assasin? I can't play the video on tablet.

    I have the dvd and it plays swell. ;)

    I had it at one point, great who story
    :-bd
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,816
    The deadly Assasin? I can't play the video on tablet.

    It's a collection of every Jelly Baby scene from Doctor Who though I'm not a fan of the show to be honest.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    though I'm not a fan of the show to be honest.

    Me neither @Dragonpol. It may be pure coincidence, but I think we were both born in the same year. I was wondering whether perhaps we are the generation it skipped? I know people younger and older who love it, but I have no one among friends who really cares about it.

    I've tried to get into the Capaldi era as I love the man, but even he isn't enough to convert me. I do love the premise, the ingenuity it presents, but I find it to be like a slightly bigger budget kids show, with hammy acting and sub-par visual effects. It's certainly better these days, if I put on an Ecclestone era episode on Netflix it looks like a bad episode of The Bill with off-the-shelf VFX. That in itself is enough to take me out of the story. I've been told by some people that this is its charm, the kitsch nature of it, but as hard as I try I can't get into it.

    I am looking forward to seeing this weekend's episode as it's right up my street in terms of genre, but if this one can't finally crack me I don't know if it ever will.

  • Posts: 6,432
    After watching that link, I have the urge to buy some Jelly Babies.
  • NicNacNicNac Administrator, Moderator
    Posts: 7,571
    Although old enough to remember Classic Who from way back, I actually do prefer NuWho. I simply don't recall Old Who with any misty fondness even though I watched it religiously most of my life.

    So, of the new actors, I was ok with Eccleston but Tennant was the man for me. I loved his attitude and humour. It took half a dozen episodes of Smith before I uncrossed my arms and stopped muttering. Then I saw the light and Smith was superb for the rest of his timey wimey.

    Now, Capoldi. I'm 90% there. I do like having an older doctor, and that they have taken him in a different direction. Away from the boy band mentality of a doctor to swoon over. I think he delivers the laughs well and the serious stuff with aplomb.

    Negatives - sometimes his diction isn't clear, and so far this series, it's been about Clara (who I do like) with the mysterious Dr flitting in and out of the action. Maybe Capaldi needs to step forward now and take control.
    Overall though I do like him, and happy to see him continue.

    And Kill The Moon was terrific.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,894
    Being born in 1985, I din't get to grow up with a Doctor. Though I was aware of the classid and modern show, I didn't become a fan until 2007, and that was through the classic era DVD's. If I was pushed, I would say i'm more a classic Who fan, due in no small part to McCoy and Troughton, being my first and second favourites respectively, with Pertwee as my fourth.

    Of the modern run, Smith was the first actor where I was able to experience each episode as it was originally transmitted. It only took 3 episodes for me to be convinced that Smith was the right choice, and my initial scepticism evaporated. Capaldi has taken a bit longer to warm up to.

    I would echo NicNac's negative, in that sometimes Capaldi's accent makes some words inaudible. On original viewing, I couldn't quite understand a line of dialogue in the closing minutes of The Time Of The Doctor. "We're probably crashing", was the line.
  • edited October 2014 Posts: 6,432
    Was very young though recall back end of Tom Baker era and vividly remember seeing the fourth to fifth Doctor regeneration first time round. Remember many of the Baker shows which I recently revisited, the serial with Julian Glover stood out The city of death always remembered the monster from that show. Truth is many episodes for old who were poor, certainly in the 80s. I found Trial of a time lord which I own intriguing, though the writing and budget was very poor at that point.

    I do prefer NuWho though much of that is down to the Smith Era, if anything the Smith era got me revisiting classic Who. Genesis of the Daleks still one of my favourite serials. War games also good. Not bothered with Pertwee, simply as I never remember enjoying the Third Doctor when the shows were rerun in my youth.

    Not got round to it as yet, though intend to buy The Key to Time Tom Bakers 5th season. Romana I :x
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited October 2014 Posts: 17,816
    The deadly Assasin? I can't play the video on tablet.

    It's a collection of every Jelly Baby scene from Doctor Who though I'm not a fan of the show to be honest.
    RC7 wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    though I'm not a fan of the show to be honest.

    Me neither @Dragonpol. It may be pure coincidence, but I think we were both born in the same year. I was wondering whether perhaps we are the generation it skipped? I know people younger and older who love it, but I have no one among friends who really cares about it.

    I've tried to get into the Capaldi era as I love the man, but even he isn't enough to convert me. I do love the premise, the ingenuity it presents, but I find it to be like a slightly bigger budget kids show, with hammy acting and sub-par visual effects. It's certainly better these days, if I put on an Ecclestone era episode on Netflix it looks like a bad episode of The Bill with off-the-shelf VFX. That in itself is enough to take me out of the story. I've been told by some people that this is its charm, the kitsch nature of it, but as hard as I try I can't get into it.

    I am looking forward to seeing this weekend's episode as it's right up my street in terms of genre, but if this one can't finally crack me I don't know if it ever will.

    Well, @RC7, I was born in October 1984 and am nearing 30, so yes I think we missed Doctor Who being on the TV though I do recall seeing a Tom Baker repeat at least once on TV and then there was the 1996 Doctor Who TV film as well. That said, I'm not into sci-fi very much as it just doesn't appeal to me. I too am glad to see an older Doctor in the form of Peter Capaldi but I have not been watching the show due to work commitments.
  • SandySandy Somewhere in Europe
    Posts: 4,012
    Wow, what an amazing episode! I loved every bit of it. And we get the Jelly Babies again ;)
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