quote:Originally posted by frogpond: Anybody know if the SciFi channel will be purchasing this series? I will be very perturbed if they don't!
It depends on the ratings. Season 1 has performed decently, but it's not a breakaway hit. However, it's also on Sci-Fi. It's scored a little over a million viewers each episode, which is good for a tiny niche channel that many cable providers don't offer.
However, I wouldn't expect season 2 incredibly soon because it's not even wrapped in Britain yet and Sci-Fi seems to like waiting.
(conspiracy mode initiated)
...then again, these are the NFBSKs who canned MST3k...so they cannot be easily trusted...
-------------------- "One original thought is worth a thousand mindless quotings." -- Diogenes
"Vote Republican! We won't burn you at the stake for your religious beliefs or slaughter your family and steal your land." -- Ramblin' Dave Posts: 3555 | From: Florida | Registered: Feb 2002
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I would be surprised if they didn't pick it up. It works well as an off season replacement for it's main shows, stargate and battlestar galactica, and if they add more programs they'll have fewer rerun weeks. Woot!
While I'm upset they ceased playing mst3k, I was also upset that they limited it to the last few seasons. On the otherhand I recognize that 2 hours isn't the easiest format to squeeze into a schedule, but they could cut out some of those crappy sci-fi original movies. MST3K is also, I think, a licensing nightmare, so maybe they didn't want to deal with trying to get the rights to play all the episodes indefinitely.
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I hate waiting, especially since I've been bad and have been peeking at this thread to see what I'm missing! Otherwise I could just hold out until the DVD is available, though it's pricey.
I think it would be silly of SciFI not to buy the new season. It certainly has to beat some of those movies that have been on lately.
-------------------- So many books, so little time. Posts: 1192 | From: McDonough, Georgia | Registered: Nov 2005
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I've never had a browser hijack in my entire computer lifetime, and I download more stuff than is sane. Right at this moment I have around 48 gigs of files downloading.
quote:Originally posted by Elbe: The Doctor likes to make little comments about places he's visited before, why not make a comment about people he's traveled with in the past, like:
Doctor: "Susan and I once went to *such and such a place*" Rose: "Who's Susan?"
But maybe I'm just being a bit of a dreamer.
Yeah, that's a bit fanwanky. It'd be there just for the sake of being there, and that's one thing that RTD is very much against. Sarah Jane Smith had a point in the episode. She was there not only for the story, and not only for the emotional effect on the Doctor and Rose, but to show the audience what happens to people after they've been around the Doctor, and how he effects people.
To just mention Tegan would be pointles and would take time and energy away from the point of whatever episode is.
quote:Familier faces might be the return of captain jack in a setup for Torchwood, no?
Possibly, although I'm pretty sure RTD (and Barrowman) have said that he's totally not in this series.
quote:I kind of think the story could have progressed more smoothly if they were able to translate some of the writing earlier, to give clues as to what was needed. When the doctor found the cave drawings (Why cave drawings? Whoever built it had the ability to write. Was it for the Doctor's benefit?) it just seemed to be there to explain what we were about to see. I just think they could have given clues, even vague ones that don't make any sense, earlier into how to deal with the devil.
Yeah, I agree.
-------------------- seriously , everyone on here , just trys to give someone crap about something they do !! , its shitting me to tears. Posts: 16061 | From: UK | Registered: Sep 2000
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quote:Originally posted by frogpond: Downloading it makes me a bit nervous - I've already had one browser hijack earlier this year.
If you use a reliable torrent client (µTorrent, for example) and a good torrent site you will be perfectly safe. Not that I condone downloading copyrighted material, of course.
-------------------- All along the untrodden paths of the future, I can see the footprints of an unseen hand. Posts: 6912 | From: Flanders | Registered: Jan 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Elbe: The Doctor likes to make little comments about places he's visited before, why not make a comment about people he's traveled with in the past, like:
Doctor: "Susan and I once went to *such and such a place*" Rose: "Who's Susan?"
But maybe I'm just being a bit of a dreamer.
Yeah, that's a bit fanwanky. It'd be there just for the sake of being there, and that's one thing that RTD is very much against. Sarah Jane Smith had a point in the episode. She was there not only for the story, and not only for the emotional effect on the Doctor and Rose, but to show the audience what happens to people after they've been around the Doctor, and how he effects people.
To just mention Tegan would be pointles and would take time and energy away from the point of whatever episode is.
Oh, I agree, referencing past people just for the sake of it doesn't add anything to the story. Sometimes, however, I get annoyed how little the past seems to play into long running series - but then I'm a fan of continuity.
I guess I think of it more as, to borrow a term, fanservice, a lot of people have watched the show for a lot of years (I haven't, I just started), it doesn't seem all that difficult to write in passing references to past adventures. But, not my call, and it's still an enjoyable show.
quote:
quote:Familier faces might be the return of captain jack in a setup for Torchwood, no?
Possibly, although I'm pretty sure RTD (and Barrowman) have said that he's totally not in this series.
Umm, in the UK, if a season (one year) is a series, what's a series (entire run) called? Are you saying jack isn't going to be in doctor who or torchwood?
quote:Umm, in the UK, if a season (one year) is a series, what's a series (entire run) called?
I guess a "series" here is equivalent to a US season while the whole run would be called a "complete series" or something like that (meaning all the series end-to-end). At least that's how I've seen DVD box sets of sitcoms advertised e.g. "Crappy Cult Sitcom - Own the Whole Series on DVD!"
quote:Originally posted by Elbe: Oh, I agree, referencing past people just for the sake of it doesn't add anything to the story. Sometimes, however, I get annoyed how little the past seems to play into long running series - but then I'm a fan of continuity.
I guess I think of it more as, to borrow a term, fanservice, a lot of people have watched the show for a lot of years (I haven't, I just started), it doesn't seem all that difficult to write in passing references to past adventures.
In RTD's opinion, and the opinion of a lot of fans, it was exactly that kind of thing that killed the show in the 80s, though. It really just seems like it would bog it down unnecessarily. We all know that he's the 10th Doctor, and that he's been places before and been there with people before. And there are subtle references. Think of, for example, Eccleston seeing the Cyberman's head in the museum.
quote:Umm, in the UK, if a season (one year) is a series, what's a series (entire run) called?
Series. It's a context thing.
quote:Are you saying jack isn't going to be in doctor who or torchwood?
He'll be in Torchwood (as are the girl who played Gwynneth in "The Unquiet Dead" and the girl who played the scientist/doctor who looked at the pig in "Aliens Of London", but playing different roles), but not in series 28 of Doctor Who. He might be back for series 29, though.
-------------------- seriously , everyone on here , just trys to give someone crap about something they do !! , its shitting me to tears. Posts: 16061 | From: UK | Registered: Sep 2000
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Mr. Furious
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
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quote:Originally posted by trollface: He'll be in Torchwood (as are the girl who played Gwynneth in "The Unquiet Dead"
She'll be playing a character named "Gwen," leading to some speculation as to whether the two characters are related somehow.
quote:Originally posted by trollface: In RTD's opinion, and the opinion of a lot of fans, it was exactly that kind of thing that killed the show in the 80s, though. It really just seems like it would bog it down unnecessarily. We all know that he's the 10th Doctor, and that he's been places before and been there with people before. And there are subtle references. Think of, for example, Eccleston seeing the Cyberman's head in the museum.
Ah, I haven't gotten that far yet. I'm just about to start the second of Jon Pertwee's seasons.
quote:
quote:Umm, in the UK, if a season (one year) is a series, what's a series (entire run) called?
Series. It's a context thing.
Strange, I think the US system is much simpler and less confusing.
Something strange I worked out is that Doctor Who is currently tied with Star Trek for number of seasons overall. Although it's running time is closer to around 18-20 of Trek's seasons, I think.
quote:Originally posted by Elbe: Strange, I think the US system is much simpler and less confusing.
Maybe, but it's not something that ever causes problems. You just know it because that's how it is.
Maybe it could be compared to the difference between effected and affected. You could use them both to describe the same behaviour in a very similar context, and they sound pretty much the same, but you rarely have to explain which one you mean, because of the context, and the use of the words is something that most people have in common.
-------------------- seriously , everyone on here , just trys to give someone crap about something they do !! , its shitting me to tears. Posts: 16061 | From: UK | Registered: Sep 2000
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Billie Piper will leave at the end of this series.
-------------------- Silence should never under any circumstances be construed as agreement. A lot of the time, it's simply a reflection that someone just said something so stupid that no response could possibly do it justice. - Ramblin' Dave Posts: 8528 | From: Nottingham, England | Registered: Feb 2000
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I guess I will continue to watch Dr. Who because it is "Dr. Who"... Billie is great to watch; from last year to this one, you can see how her acting skills have improved. Besides that, Billie is great to watch...
ham "maybe I should send her my son's phone number" bubba
-------------------- Fundamentally Unfundie since 1975 Posts: 7942 | From: Louisiana | Registered: Jun 2000
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So it's finally true this time...I'd thought she'd signed on for a third series, but that could well be rumor mongering.
If they've been planning her exit since autumn, I'm kind of amazed they've been able to keep it under their hats this long.
Supposedly, the door's open for the new companion to show up in the Christmas special. As if there wasn't yet another way for them to torture me until December.
-------------------- "One original thought is worth a thousand mindless quotings." -- Diogenes
"Vote Republican! We won't burn you at the stake for your religious beliefs or slaughter your family and steal your land." -- Ramblin' Dave Posts: 3555 | From: Florida | Registered: Feb 2002
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I'll be sorry to see Billie go, but Dr. Who's assistants rarely last more than two series. I notice the article said that even if she does die then the door will be open for her to return. Whether she dies or not I doubt if we'll see her again, unless it is for a one-off like Sarah-Jane in this series.
I know there was a special story called 'The Five Doctors' in which all of the first five doctors appeared and I think some assistants re-appeared in that - but I think it is the end for Rose come the end of the series.
I just hope David Tennant doesn't leave.
ETA: On BBC1's 'Breakfast Time' this morning they were saying that the final episode in this series is set in modern day Britain and involves an invasion. I know a joint invasion by the daleks and cybermen has been mooted.
This would be an ideal time to 'kill' Rose off (the BBC has promised a spectacular exit for her) as it would add another dimension to what we know of her family.
We have seen the effect of her leaving, her father's death from the past and also we have met a parallel version of her family in a different dimension. (Gosh! And to think that Dr. Who used to be a kiddie's series to fill the gap between the football scores and the Saturday evening news.)
-------------------- Andrew, Ware, England Posts: 1709 | From: Ware, England | Registered: Apr 2003
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Well, it looks like it's definitely Cybermen for the series finale, at least. There was a pic of the potential new companion in the paper today. She's an employee of Torchwood, and is introduced in the final story. And she was wearing a couple of earpeices, not entirely unlike the ones from the Cyberman story, although less rounded.
The story said that it's definitely an invasion by both the Cybermen and the Daleks, but this is a tabloid we're talking about, so let's see what happens.
-------------------- seriously , everyone on here , just trys to give someone crap about something they do !! , its shitting me to tears. Posts: 16061 | From: UK | Registered: Sep 2000
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I thought tonight's episode was excellent - funny, charming and really rather touching. The scene's at the end with Elton's mother brought a tear to even this flinty hearted viewer. A bit of a pleasant contrast to some of the earlier episodes which I reckon went for the heartstrings in too heavy handed a fashion (e.g the Mme De Pompadour episdoe (although I acknowledge I seem to hold a minority view there)).
Marc Warren suprised me by being as good as he was here (I don't like him in Hustle at all - although that maybe down to the charcter he is forced to play). Plus, it was great to see Shirley Henderson - she always gives good value.
Did anyone catch who wrote this week's ep? (I missed the first five minutes) It "felt" like one of Russell T. Davies' efforts.
-------------------- "You watched it. You can't UNWATCH it." Posts: 1646 | From: UK | Registered: Dec 2003
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Well spotted Faith! He was one of the co-writers. The BBC 'Doctor Who' web site says it is by Russell T Davies, Phil Collinson, and Susie Liggat.
-------------------- Andrew, Ware, England Posts: 1709 | From: Ware, England | Registered: Apr 2003
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Sorry to say, but I thought it was bloody awful, Peter Kay was terrible too, like something off a bad comedy sketch. To me the this was very worst episode of the series since it's revival. The first time I've been utterly bored by the series that i went onto the computer with the TV on in one corner to see if it improved- it didn't. Doctor Who to me is about the Doctor. This came across as some kind of effort for kids TV.
Posts: 34 | From: South Shields, England | Registered: Mar 2006
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According to a mate of mine, if you're in any doubt as to whether it's a Russell T. Davies episode, look to see if there's a reference to the Slitheen in there, or a bottom/fart gag - if so, it's a dead cert it's a Davies one. Yesterday's had both.
I liked yesterday's episode. Very different from the Dr Who I remember watching as a kid. Anyone seen the Buffy episode "Storytelling"? That's the one where Andrew (the kind of surrogate Buffy fanboy) makes a film about the Scooby gang from the outsider's perspective. Last night's Dr Who episode reminded me of this one.
I'm maybe imagining it because I'm a Buffy fan, but I think there's been a Whedon-esque feel to much of the revamped Dr Who. I'm not saying they've pinched anything, but it feels like there's some influence there.
Anyway, I liked how they revisited several past episodes and gave some indictation of what it's like being a bystander in Dr Who's London, where shop dummies are liable to come to life at any given moment and aliens constantly invade. I always like these things where they return and show us what was going on behind the scenes.
I thought Peter Kay was pretty funny - the 'Absorbaloff' name gag was a good one. True, the scenes with him in alien form could easily have been from a Dr Who parody sketch, but I think Dr Who is so silly, it's always been able to get away with an element of self-parody.
-------------------- Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. Posts: 2372 | From: Scotland | Registered: Jul 2002
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I have to say that I wasn't overly impressed with this episode, either. It started off well, and I liked the jokey tone and the different format, but I don't think the rest of the episode had any depth to it whatsoever. It wasn't real enough to be affecting (no matter how much I fancied Ursula), and it wasn't funny enough to be an out-and-out comedy episode (although the implied blow-job gag was great). I also thought that Peter Kay was dreadful, both in and out of the make-up.
quote:Originally posted by Danvers Carew: Anyone seen the Buffy episode "Storytelling"? That's the one where Andrew (the kind of surrogate Buffy fanboy) makes a film about the Scooby gang from the outsider's perspective. Last night's Dr Who episode reminded me of this one.
I'm maybe imagining it because I'm a Buffy fan, but I think there's been a Whedon-esque feel to much of the revamped Dr Who. I'm not saying they've pinched anything, but it feels like there's some influence there.
You're not imagining it. Davis has gone on record many times as saying that he adores Buffy, thinks that it's the perfect example of how to write good television, especially fantasy television, and unashamedly says that it's a big influence on his version of Doctor Who.
I also thought of "Storyteller", and I don't think Davis would kill us if we said that it was a rip-off of it. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I don't think this was acheived with anything like Whedon's skill. The only really good thing about last night's episode was the change in format/storytelling style, and that was Joss Whedon's idea.
quote:I thought Peter Kay was pretty funny - the 'Absorbaloff' name gag was a good one.
Not Davis' either. The monster (and it's name) was the winner of a Blue Peter "design a Doctor Who monster" competition.
-------------------- seriously , everyone on here , just trys to give someone crap about something they do !! , its shitting me to tears. Posts: 16061 | From: UK | Registered: Sep 2000
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quote:Originally posted by bloodaxe: Sorry to say, but I thought it was bloody awful, Peter Kay was terrible too, like something off a bad comedy sketch. To me the this was very worst episode of the series since it's revival. The first time I've been utterly bored by the series that i went onto the computer with the TV on in one corner to see if it improved- it didn't. Doctor Who to me is about the Doctor. This came across as some kind of effort for kids TV.
I applaud RTD for reviving Dr Who, but I wish he wouldn't write the stories. I understand that he is trying to flesh out what happens to the families of people who get involved with the Dr, but RTD's stories are by far the weakest ones. Okay, in this day and age people are going to set up webpages or blogs and exchange info, so the storyline reflected real life, but where was the Dr for most of the episode?
The chasing monsters with buckets of whatever was just irritating slapstick silliness. The Absorbaloff was fine by me and Peter Kay was fine (the series has a tradition of guest actors and it's great the tradition remains), but there was too much silliness, not enough tension. But I did appreciate the "love life of sorts" quip.
The Absorbaloff idea was also done by Ramsey Campbell in one of his short stories. A father absorbs/merges with each of his grown up children in turn. Campbell's version was slower and more awful - descriptions of obscene 8-limbed creatures, merging face to face, body to body, like a parody of lovers, as the process takes place. That slow, awful process would have been scarier than the sudden process.
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Ah, I don't just have Buffy on the brain then - interesting!
quote:Originally posted by trollface:
quote:I thought Peter Kay was pretty funny - the 'Absorbaloff' name gag was a good one.
Not Davis' either. The monster (and it's name) was the winner of a Blue Peter "design a Doctor Who monster" competition.
Well I mean that I thought the gag surrounding the name was good - "Absorbatrix? Absorbatron? Absorbalux? Absorbaloff?" - rather than the name itself. Nice little touch of in-jokery about silly alien names.
Peter Kay was all right I thought - if there's a criticism, then it was that he was funny in a Peter Kay way rather than the style of comedy usually seen in Dr Who, so it stood out and he didn't seem too much like a Dr Who character. But he was okay.
I think the technique pinched from 'Storyteller' may've worked far better if it had been Mickey in the film-maker/Andrew role - someone a bit closer to the Doctor and Rose, but still in the outsider role, so that our main characters could've featured more heavily. If RTD is a Buffy nut, he could be inspired by the episode "The Zeppo" too - that'd be quite entertaining. But I suppose they've thrashed that idea around a fair bit already.
-------------------- Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. Posts: 2372 | From: Scotland | Registered: Jul 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Danvers Carew: Peter Kay was all right I thought - if there's a criticism, then it was that he was funny in a Peter Kay way rather than the style of comedy usually seen in Dr Who, so it stood out and he didn't seem too much like a Dr Who character.
Maybe that's the problem - I can't stand Peter Kay. He was alright on The Catherine Tate Show that one time, and the "Amarillo" thing was okay, but that's about it for me.
quote:I think the technique pinched from 'Storyteller' may've worked far better if it had been Mickey in the film-maker/Andrew role - someone a bit closer to the Doctor and Rose, but still in the outsider role, so that our main characters could've featured more heavily.
I didn't mind that so much, but I think it'd have been more effective if either the series were longer - 8 episodes isn't really enough to have such a break in format - or if it'd come a few series down the line. Look at all the times that a formula has been played around with succesfully - The X-Files started it in series 4 or so, Buffy also in series 4, Babylon 5 in series 5 (I think. The one told from the perspective of the two cleaners), Voyager with the same idea in series 4 (I think), and so on.
The formula needs to be well established - set in stone, even - before playing around with it will be really effective. As it is, if the format's not 100% solid, then messing around with it doesn't make such a break from the norm.
-------------------- seriously , everyone on here , just trys to give someone crap about something they do !! , its shitting me to tears. Posts: 16061 | From: UK | Registered: Sep 2000
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quote:Originally posted by trollface: I have to say that I wasn't overly impressed with this episode, either. It started off well, and I liked the jokey tone and the different format, but I don't think the rest of the episode had any depth to it whatsoever. It wasn't real enough to be affecting (no matter how much I fancied Ursula),
really? I found it very moving. A group of individuals all with a very different outlook on life get together through a shared interest, and then affect each other's lives. Only for that to be ruined by man on a mission.
I'm beginning to think that they are however overplaying the "The doctor can't save everyone" storyline- I can only think that this is to prepare us for the impending demise of Miss Piper.
-------------------- once known as little miss
"I don't Pretend to be an ordinary Housewife" Elizabeth Taylor Posts: 2416 | From: London | Registered: Feb 2002
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quote: really? I found it very moving. A group of individuals all with a very different outlook on life get together through a shared interest, and then affect each other's lives. Only for that to be ruined by man on a mission.
I assume that you are thinking of the July 2005 UK snopesters' gathering Posts: 2370 | From: Arabia | Registered: Feb 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Zachary Al Fizz: wee wifey posted
quote: really? I found it very moving. A group of individuals all with a very different outlook on life get together through a shared interest, and then affect each other's lives. Only for that to be ruined by man on a mission.
I assume that you are thinking of the July 2005 UK snopesters' gathering.
I know, Bloody Dara, eh
-------------------- once known as little miss
"I don't Pretend to be an ordinary Housewife" Elizabeth Taylor Posts: 2416 | From: London | Registered: Feb 2002
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What, was Dara there? He must have been terribly quiet. I was thinking of the sinister pirate guy Posts: 2370 | From: Arabia | Registered: Feb 2002
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I actually really liked this one. I thought I was going to hate it, knowing about the monster in advance and knowing Davies was writing it.
I'm liking this season's theme of the effects the Doctor has on other people. While it's obviously build-up for the end of the season, I thought it was done well. I was genuinely moved by the tragedy of how these people came together, found something they loved, and then had their lives destroyed. I also liked how they went back and showed us how Jackie's been doing (something else RTD does a lot). Considering the rumors swirling around about the end of the season, it will be something to see how she is after those events.
Did anyone else kind the ending with Ursula to be just a tad on the creepy side? While I suppose it's not so bad if she and Elton and are happy with it, I can't say I'd wanted to spend the rest of my existence as pavement.
-------------------- "One original thought is worth a thousand mindless quotings." -- Diogenes
"Vote Republican! We won't burn you at the stake for your religious beliefs or slaughter your family and steal your land." -- Ramblin' Dave Posts: 3555 | From: Florida | Registered: Feb 2002
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I really liked Love & Monsters. I did wonder though about the paving slab. If I'm remembering correctly, Ursula's face isn't seen on the web-cam, but only from Elton's POV. Given that the Scooby-doo chase at the beginning is from the same view, and is clearly a confused memory, I wonder if Elton isn't delusional about Ursulas survival. But I'd have to d/l the episode to be sure.
Posts: 126 | From: Scotland | Registered: Aug 2001
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Mr. Furious
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
posted
quote:Originally posted by Super Sloppy Rebochan: Did anyone else kind the ending with Ursula to be just a tad on the creepy side? While I suppose it's not so bad if she and Elton and are happy with it, I can't say I'd wanted to spend the rest of my existence as pavement.
Plus, she said that she'll never grow old. Thing is, though, that Elton will. So, then, what's going to happen in 60 years or so, when Elton dies of old age?
quote:Originally posted by wee wifey: A group of individuals all with a very different outlook on life get together through a shared interest, and then affect each other's lives. Only for that to be ruined by man on a mission.
But they didn't seem like individuals to me, but like a buch of 2-D characters from a sketch show. I just didn't care about any of them, because none of them seemed like real people to me. Compare that with, say, Lynda with a "y" from last series. She was the same kind of character as Ursula in many ways, but you actually believed that she was a real person.
-------------------- seriously , everyone on here , just trys to give someone crap about something they do !! , its shitting me to tears. Posts: 16061 | From: UK | Registered: Sep 2000
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