Doctor Who

[Kobold King he/him]

"I was lost a long time ago.  She was saving you."  may have replaced "Good men don’t need rules. Today is not the day to find out why I have so many." as my favorite quote.

 

 

"I'll bring UNIT, I'll bring the Zygons, give me a minute and I'll bring the Daleks and the Cybermen..."

 

This was the point at which I realized just how big of a hole Mayor Me had dug for herself. Fortunately for her, I think by the end of the episode she realized it as well.

 

Edited November 24, 2015 by Kobold King

[+Slowswift]

So I hope it's accurate but

GALLIFREY GALLIFREY GALLIFREY IS COMING BACK

Edited November 24, 2015 by Slowswift

[Kobold King he/him]

So I hope it's accurate but

GALLIFREY GALLIFREY GALLIFREY IS COMING BACK

 

 

That's gonna be a bit awkward with a big ol' Skaro floating around the universe. If the Time Lords come back we're looking at Time War II.

[+Slowswift]

That's gonna be a bit awkward with a big ol' Skaro floating around the universe. If the Time Lords come back we're looking at Time War II.

 

Honestly,

screw the moral qualms of genocide. If there's a race that has never expressed desire for anything but total annihilation of everything not Dalek, has shown up time and time again after they've either been "destroyed" or pardoned, you don't throw up your hands and say "oh, well". You get rid of them. One only needs to look at the Cybermen scenario from season 2 for proof.

Edited November 24, 2015 by Slowswift

[Kobold King he/him]

Honestly,

screw the moral qualms of genocide. If there's a race that has never expressed desire for anything but total annihilation of everything not Dalek, has shown up time and time again after they've either been "destroyed" or pardoned, you don't throw up your hands and say "oh, well". You get rid of them. One only needs to look at the Cybermen scenario from season 2 for proof.

 

 

They're redeemable. Caan, the specimen in Henry van Staten's vault, and Sec all prove that.

 

The last two in particular are the path to peace. The "Metaltron" and Dalek Sec prove that Daleks exposed to selected bits of human DNA are capable of developing a moral compass, even showing mercy. What the Doctor needs to do is go to Skaro and corrupt their cloning vats with the human genome. Transform the entire species. Make them peaceable, or at least give them a concept of what peace is.

 

In short... create the Hybrid. What if the Hybrid prophecy doesn't refer to the creation of an unstoppable menace, but to taking an irredeemable force for evil and giving it the capacity to negotiate? What if, by the end of this season, we could see a new paradigm of Daleks willing to enter peace talks with the Time Lords, willing to fight for good? In the spirit of Twelve's speech from The Zygon Inversion, why don't we skip all the nasty war and genocide and work for a time when both sides can sit down and talk?

 

Sigh. It probably won't happen. The Hybrid will either be this big unstoppable monster or turn out to have never been that important at all--it won't be a redeemed Dalek race, that much I can tell you. But it saddens me that the Daleks will forever be doomed to their cold metal existence, their only other option complete extermination, just because the BBC (and by extension, the Doctor) can't conceive of a world in which they've been turned for good.

[+Slowswift]

Eh, I could take that. You have a point.

[Kobold King he/him]

Eh, I could take that. You have a point.

 

 

The name you take for yourself is a promise. The name "Kobold King" was a promise to stand up for all of fiction's most hated, most bitterly contempted races.

[Dunkum he/him]

The name you take for yourself is a promise. The name "Kobold King" was a promise to stand up for all of fiction's most hated, most bitterly contempted races.

Kobolds are hated? I've always thought of them as Goblins' younger less effective cousins. theyre a minor annoyance at worst. then again, I may have been biased by Order of the Stick's depiction

[Kobold King he/him]

Kobolds are hated? I've always thought of them as Goblins' younger less effective cousins. theyre a minor annoyance at worst. then again, I may have been biased by Order of the Stick's depiction

 

 

I used to play a video game in which they were constantly referred to as "skulking vermin," so maybe I'm a bit biased myself.

[Bort he/him]

I think Kobolds are cute, and used to play one in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

 

As for the Doctor...

 

Wasn't Gallifrey already returned?

 

Also, brilliant episode, although I felt Clara's write off was a little forced.

[Argent he/him]

See, an episode like Face the Raven illustrates everything I think works for the show - it is at its strongest when they allow it to be a story about characters, not one about low-budget aliens. 

 

I've been reading some reviews that explain why the Doctor should really be angry at himself for Clara's fate (because it's his personality that changes the people around him, making them more reckless, which is what ultimately led his companion to risk her life so readily). Maybe. It was a damnation good speech though, the whole "good man goes to war" (or, as I like to think about it, the anger of a gentle man) thing various Doctors have pulled off always gets me; it's one of the few things that consistently work for me in this show. Clara's plea for the Doctor to not turn to vengeance was also well done. All in all, those last 10 minutes were really solid. 

 

And there are episodes like Sleep no More, which... just... what the duck? Stupid, inconsistent, poorly acted, lacking character development, boring set, dumb monsters, unforeshadowed insights, literally, and I meant literally, the only good things about it were the very last scene and the beautiful acapella bit of Mr. Sandman they so readily played everywhere.

[Kobold King he/him]

Soooo...

 

Who wants to place bets on how long Ashildr will manage to live in the grand scheme of things? I was 99% sure she was going to die in The Woman Who Lived, and suspected that she'd be the fatality in Face the Raven, but I'd like to change my bet to "She dies in a 21st century episode, sacrificing herself to save a companion's life."

[Dunkum he/him]

See, an episode like Face the Raven illustrates everything I think works for the show - it is at its strongest when they allow it to be a story about characters, not one about low-budget aliens. 

 

I've been reading some reviews that explain why the Doctor should really be angry at himself for Clara's fate (because it's his personality that changes the people around him, making them more reckless, which is what ultimately led his companion to risk her life so readily). Maybe. It was a damnation good speech though, the whole "good man goes to war" (or, as I like to think about it, the anger of a gentle man) thing various Doctors have pulled off always gets me; it's one of the few things that consistently work for me in this show. Clara's plea for the Doctor to not turn to vengeance was also well done. All in all, those last 10 minutes were really solid. 

 

And there are episodes like Sleep no More, which... just... what the duck? Stupid, inconsistent, poorly acted, lacking character development, boring set, dumb monsters, unforeshadowed insights, literally, and I meant literally, the only good things about it were the very last scene and the beautiful acapella bit of Mr. Sandman they so readily played everywhere.

and even that last scene loses a lot of its effectiveness due to how terrible everything preceding it was. they seemed to be going for an effect like they had in the end of Blink, but Blink was actually a really good episode, whereas sleep no more...

[Kaymyth she/her]

and even that last scene loses a lot of its effectiveness due to how terrible everything preceding it was. they seemed to be going for an effect like they had in the end of Blink, but Blink was actually a really good episode, whereas sleep no more...

 

Yeah, I was giggling madly at that last scene.  It was probably supposed to be super-creepy, but it just came off as one of the most ridiculous moments in NuWho.

[Dunkum he/him]

Yeah, I was giggling madly at that last scene.  It was probably supposed to be super-creepy, but it just came off as one of the most ridiculous moments in NuWho.

it had some creepy vibes going for it, especially the very end where his voice changes, but it just didn't work after the the rest of the episode

[Meandbooks she/her]

Yeah, my sister and I couldn't take Sleep No More seriously after they revealed what the monsters were. The rest of it could have been pretty cool, with the camera tricks and such, but monsters made out of the grit in your eye? Really? Really?

 

Face the Raven though....man, that was excellent. Clara has always been one of my favorite companions, and I loved how true to character her exit was.

[Quiver he/him]

I feel kinda bad for Jenna Coleman.

 

I'll admit, I wasn't a huge fan of Clara; she didn't really have any personality in season 7B, since they were just setting her up as "the Impossible Girl" rather than a character. She got a lot more to do last year, though that involved basically rebooting the character and starting from scratch by introducing the school.

 

I'm not saying that's bad, since... well, it was necessary to make her more than just "generic companion". And, in all fairness, it worked; Clara did end up with her own distinct personality. And I do feel that the events of her exit fit with the direction and the arc she's had since last year, with her becoming mroe Doctor-y.

 

(In fact, as a neat note... her stance when she finally "faced the raven" was very much a NuWho regeneration one; arms wide, reeling... but instead of golden regen energy, we got black mist.)

 

The reason I say I feel sorry for her is that... well, it feels like she didn't get to do very much this season. Yes, there is the increased mannerisms -her hanging out of the Tardis (like Eleven did in Day) and laughing, for instance- but in terms of actual action she feels like she has taken a  backseat this year. The premiere was basically her being bossed around, she spent the Flood episodes locked in a room, she skipped Ashildir's second episode...

 

It feels kinda strange, that for Clara's farewell season, this is really only one of a handful of episodes where she got to take part in the actual action.

[Kobold King he/him]

A rewatch confirms for me that The Doctor's Wife is the greatest episode in the history of ever.

 

The Doctor goes up against an ancient, nameless, eldritch abomination from beyond the boundaries of the universe, and not only outwits it, he has it utterly destroyed. And while it screams, he proclaims that it's "the size of an asteroid, but so very, very small!"

 

Also, the human TARDIS is both hilarious and deeply touching on an emotional level.

 

Neil Gaiman needs to write another episode like this. I'm not a huge fan of Nightmare in Silver, but I'd love another episode written as a dark fairy tale. And Capaldi would absolutely kill in such a story.

[+Slowswift]

A rewatch confirms for me that The Doctor's Wife is the greatest episode in the history of ever.

The Doctor goes up against an ancient, nameless, eldritch abomination from beyond the boundaries of the universe, and not only outwits it, he has it utterly destroyed. And while it screams, he proclaims that it's "the size of an asteroid, but so very, very small!"

Also, the human TARDIS is both hilarious and deeply touching on an emotional level.

Neil Gaiman needs to write another episode like this. I'm not a huge fan of Nightmare in Silver, but I'd love another episode written as a dark fairy tale. And Capaldi would absolutely kill in such a story.

YESYESYES

[Young Bard he/him]

Better say this quickly - Heaven Sent / Hell Bent theories?

 

A lot of people, including most of the Whovians at school are screaming "Return of Gallifrey!" Personally, I think that it might not be (I say might, though) a full return. I think Moffat is planning to eventually, but I think he'll do it much later. It can be used as a sort of weapon, a sort of build up can be made. "If Gallifrey returns, all hell will break loose." I think he would have built that up more in this series if that's what he intended to do.

 

That being said, I'm almost convinced they'll make an appearance. They'll almost certainly play some role in whatever comes up. I just don't know what it will be.

 

Thoughts?

[Argent he/him]

Neil Gaiman makes everything better, confirmed. One of the most memorable lines of the entire reboot came from The Doctor's Wife:

Fear me, I've killed hundreds of Time Lords.

Fear me, I've killed all of them.

It's how I want to remember Matt Smith - not the goofball he was in 90% of the episodes. It's right up there with Eccleston's "Just this once everybody lives!" and David Tennant's "The laws of time are mine!" / Time Lord victorious!

[RippleGylf she/her]

That line of Ten's legitimately frightened me. Amazing character development, but still. It just showed how much Ten needed someone there.

[+Slowswift]

​Heaven Sent. So that was totally a thing that happened.

 

Edit:

​I did some reading.

 

There's some rather horrific implications about Gallifreyan society, given how they get the confessions in the Confession Dial.

Edited November 29, 2015 by Ookla the Ineffable

[Aonar he/him]

​Heaven Sent. So that was totally a thing that happened.

 

....Yeah, yeah it was.

 

....

 

....I don't even have words right now. Give me a minute to A: figure out how I feel about the episode, and B: pick my jaw up off the floor and remember how to talk.

Edited November 29, 2015 by Ookla the Incorrigible

[+Slowswift]

....Yeah, yeah it was.

 

....

 

....I don't even have words right now. Give me a minute to A: figure out how I feel about the episode, and B: pick my jaw up off the floor and remember how to talk.

 

Exactly.

 

See edit to my previous post.