Wasn't too struck by 'Robot of Sherwood' despite it being a Gatiss script, if I'm honest. There's room for levity and even outright daftness - of course there is - but it was overdone in places IMO and it took too much away from the better things.
'Listen' promised to be better and certainly delivered, especially up to the mid-point, and I definitely feel like the 'true' Doctor is back. There's an uncertainty and edge again now that's not really been there since the restart in 2005 (though Ecclestone's Doctor came closest to it). He's back to being alien and unpredictable. It's great.
If anyone wishes to see Capaldi's performance in the third season of Torchwood (Children of Earth), BBC America will air it beginning on Wednesday morning. Its just a five episode season and will be shown on Wed, Thr, Fri, Mon and Tue.
"Time Heist" was interesting, but a bit confusing (although I was very tired that night). Capaldi is still great, one of my favourite Doctors. I can totally believe he pushed that guy back in Episode 1 of this season.
"Time Heist" was interesting, but a bit confusing (although I was very tired that night). Capaldi is still great, one of my favourite Doctors. I can totally believe he pushed that guy back in Episode 1 of this season.
Capaldi just gets better and better, IMO. I'm really enjoying Who again (and I say that as a fan/an admirer of Eccleston, Tennant and Smith, who are all very talented guys in their own right).
The writing's been tighter this year, too, perhaps because they can't really fill time with lots of pointless running about (which they took the mickey out of a little in 'Time Heist'). It's been good to see.
Been a while since anyone posted in here.
I'm still impressed with Peter Capaldi. He's doing a great job now. I'm just unsure of the scripts (especially the whole 'the moon's an egg' thing. I was going 'O...K...now step away from the crack pipe').
I'm not sure what's happening elsewhere, but the transmission time has been nudged back here - it's now around 8.30 rather than 7 - and that was supposed to be for tonal reasons; the series was supposed to get darker, so 'ickle kiddiewinkles might need to be over-protected. And they certainly are, given that 'darker' so far seems to mean 'the Doctor doesn't really care who lives or dies anymore, and can't/won't always save you'. The Beeb probably sees that as a negative. When I was a kid, the peril and more or less uncaring Doctor aspects were what kept me watching.
Nice to see Blaine the Mono get a run out, too.
(What do mean "That wasn't Blaine"? Of course it was. In disguise. And in space.)
I'm still on the fence about it. I'm not relating to the Doctor and companion like I have with some of the past ones. It may be for exactly the opposite reason that I don't much care for the way Capaldi is interpreting this Doctor, i.e. if he doesn't care about "us," then why should I care about him? It may also be the incongruity between his being older looking but seeming to be less sure of himself than the younger looking ones had been. He does seem to be coming into himself more as the weeks go on but it's a slog for me with the process. Could be that I don't enjoy dark stuff in general.
Had the same thought of Blaine the Mono. Still trying to warm up to new Doctor- Clara is supposed to leave the series soon, and maybe I "feel" a tension between companion and Doctor. Also, the episodes seems to go from hold my full attention, to what are your trying to say story wise. Will see where remainder of the season goes.
I'm wondering if the news leak that Clara was leaving (so far unconfirmed) was to give additional weight to these past few episodes, where she made it seem like she was getting fed up with the Doctor.
I'm still on the fence about it. I'm not relating to the Doctor and companion like I have with some of the past ones. It may be for exactly the opposite reason that I don't much care for the way Capaldi is interpreting this Doctor, i.e. if he doesn't care about "us," then why should I care about him? It may also be the incongruity between his being older looking but seeming to be less sure of himself than the younger looking ones had been. He does seem to be coming into himself more as the weeks go on but it's a slog for me with the process. Could be that I don't enjoy dark stuff in general.
It's interesting how, among the people I've spoken to, it broadly seems to be men who're enjoying it and women who're not - or at least not as much. It's a generalization and probably a horrible one, but perhaps the darker tone is driving women away...
Also, for me, Capaldi is much closer to Tom Baker or Sylvester McCoy's Doctors (or even Colin Baker, though I never really warmed to him at all. Peri, on the other hand...) than he is to David Tennant's, Matt Smith's or even Christopher Ecclestone's. He's a more complex character, much more ambiguous. Arguably, more British (I've read and heard before about how Dr Who had a following but never really took off in the States. At the time of the article, that was put down to the character of the Doctor...and figures did pick up considerably when he became more of a superhero type, while popularity started to dwindle a little at home for the exact same reason). That's not to say Americans don't or can't do ambiguity, but maybe there's some kind of cultural thing going on that's (re-)alienating certain viewers or groups, in the same way that not every 'hit' US series finds an audience over here, despite being wildly popular at home (and elsewhere).
I read, too, that some US viewers are being put off by Capaldi's accent. Any truth to that, Those Who Should Know, or is it mostly BS (as a good 90% of our media's output is, these days)?
All in all, it'll be quite funny if a show about a guy who can go anywhere in Time and Space turns out not to travel too well in the end.
As for Clara...I really thought/hoped we'd seen the last of her. Or, if she had to reappear, make it accidental, near the season's end. She could still have been central to the ep, everything could have boiled over (again), and off she pops. Maybe that'll happen anyway, but fer Gawd's sake drop her between the 'Get lost' line in the Egg Moon ep and then. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and all that.
(Tbh, I'm pretty sure that if she'd told me to get lost and slammed the door, it'd have been a case of 'stare into space for a moment, sigh, then push the magic lever'. Bye-de-bye, Clara With The Slightly Uneven Eyes, ye'll no be missed.
I only mentioned Americans specifically because the articles I read did. I already knew/had the idea that it wouldn't as much of an issue in Canada or Australia/NZ because of cultural differences to the USA (you're more like us than them).
It's really just that, in general terms, Americans specifically seem to like their heroes to be heroes. Indiana Jones is, despite his more shooty-killy tendencies, basically The Good Guy (and only kills The Bad Guys). Ditto for westerns: in his films, Clint Eastwood's Good Guy mows down entire towns...yet because he's The Good Guy and the others were The Bad Guys, it's OK (I'm not being critical there; I'll happily sit and watch Eastwood's films - Dirty Harry as well as the westerns).
But the Doctor was never that. Even back in the William Hartnell days (or perhaps especially so), the Doctor was as likely to say 'Well it's nothing to do with me' as he was to say 'We must help them'. Nor did he always kill (or allow to be killed) only The Bad Guys; he was more than happy to sacrifice a few Thals if it meant he could defeat the Daleks - and even then, he did so only because he needed a component to make the TARDIS work again. Indeed, he was even the one who convinced the Thals to fight, when they were generally content to live their lives and let the Daleks get on with it. Basically, he used them for his own ends. Not typical Good Guy behaviour.
That changed with Ecclestone, Tennant and Smith. They were much more in the Good Guy mould (perhaps consciously, since Moffat particularly made no secret of his wish to 'break' America for the potential riches therein - which in turn strengthened his position with the BBC come budget-discussion time). To an extent, Capaldi's reversed that. A lot of Brits (and Canadians ) might prefer it as it's more in keeping with our culture(s) - Good Guys don't always win...and aren't always so very good, come to that (Callan was a case in point, there) - while I can see how it might put some American viewers right off.
It's interesting how, among the people I've spoken to, it broadly seems to be men who're enjoying it and women who're not - or at least not as much. It's a generalization and probably a horrible one, but perhaps the darker tone is driving women away...
Also, for me, Capaldi is much closer to Tom Baker or Sylvester McCoy's Doctors (or even Colin Baker, though I never really warmed to him at all. Peri, on the other hand...) than he is to David Tennant's, Matt Smith's or even Christopher Ecclestone's. He's a more complex character, much more ambiguous. Arguably, more British (I've read and heard before about how Dr Who had a following but never really took off in the States. At the time of the article, that was put down to the character of the Doctor...and figures did pick up considerably when he became more of a superhero type, while popularity started to dwindle a little at home for the exact same reason). That's not to say Americans don't or can't do ambiguity, but maybe there's some kind of cultural thing going on that's (re-)alienating certain viewers or groups, in the same way that not every 'hit' US series finds an audience over here, despite being wildly popular at home (and elsewhere).
I read, too, that some US viewers are being put off by Capaldi's accent. Any truth to that, Those Who Should Know, or is it mostly BS (as a good 90% of our media's output is, these days)?
All in all, it'll be quite funny if a show about a guy who can go anywhere in Time and Space turns out not to travel too well in the end.
As for Clara...I really thought/hoped we'd seen the last of her. Or, if she had to reappear, make it accidental, near the season's end. She could still have been central to the ep, everything could have boiled over (again), and off she pops. Maybe that'll happen anyway, but fer Gawd's sake drop her between the 'Get lost' line in the Egg Moon ep and then. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and all that.
(Tbh, I'm pretty sure that if she'd told me to get lost and slammed the door, it'd have been a case of 'stare into space for a moment, sigh, then push the magic lever'. Bye-de-bye, Clara With The Slightly Uneven Eyes, ye'll no be missed.
That theory makes sense to me. I watched some of the very early Doctor Who episodes when they originally aired but didn't really get into it so missed the Tom Baker et al incarnations of the Doctor. I started watching again in the Ecclestone era. Capaldi's accent doesn't bother me at all but my partner has the closed captioning on when we watch as he has difficulty understanding it.
Guess I'm old school Doctor Who watching from Hartnell, Troughton, Pertwee ( actually meet him and Elisabeth Sladen), Baker and some Davidson. Took a break and resumed with Tennant onward. I do understand Mr. Nobody's idea.
Just can't pin-point what is so different about the current Doctor. Call it a deep vibe that there is something "just within him yet to be explained". Accent is not an issue for me. Drive my daughter nuts.
So on a sample of 4, the accent is an issue for 50%.
I'm really just interested in how or why a popular programme can - or appear to - nose-dive like that. Here, popularity has risen slightly among 'fans of a certain age', but has dipped with under-16s. The reason given is usually along the lines of 'He's not the Doctor anymore'.
(And, since I'm feeling a bit paranoid about being misunderstood, I hope it's clear that I'm not having a pop at Americans/anyone or playing any kind of 'we're better/more sophisticated than you' card. I wouldn't do that even if I didn't have as much respect for the people here as I do. Just curious and having a chat.)
So on a sample of 4, the accent is an issue for 50%.
I'm really just interested in how or why a popular programme can - or appear to - nose-dive like that. Here, popularity has risen slightly among 'fans of a certain age', but has dipped with under-16s. The reason given is usually along the lines of 'He's not the Doctor anymore'.
(And, since I'm feeling a bit paranoid about being misunderstood, I hope it's clear that I'm not having a pop at Americans/anyone or playing any kind of 'we're better/more sophisticated than you' card. I wouldn't do that even if I didn't have as much respect for the people here as I do. Just curious and having a chat.)
Here, popularity has risen slightly among 'fans of a certain age', but has dipped with under-16s. The reason given is usually along the lines of 'He's not the Doctor anymore'.
That's interesting, and I agree with that general assessment. However, I'm under 16 and I think this is the first time The Doctor consistently acts in a manner I feel suits the character since McCoy left (although I did really like John Hurt, but his tenure was very brief).
(No disrespect to McGann, Eccleston, Tennant and Smith, I think they are all great at what they did, and I enjoyed their interpretations of the character, but the way Capaldi does it is my personal preference.)
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