Dr Who - Is it just me.............?

[Norman Potting]

Whilst I stopped watching the "old" Dr Who in the '80's I have followed the "reborn" series with interest.

The latest series seems to have had a lot of money thrown at it, it looks good and effects are light years away from the days of the legendary "BBC gravel pit and man in costume".

However, whilst I have enjoyed watching the four episodes that have appeared so far I have left each one with the thought of "what the f*** was that all about" and am starting to long for one where good and bad are nicely defined, I can follow the story and, of course, the Dr wins.

Amy Pond is a very fine young lady tho'.

 

[VAL1850]

Ive felt like that since I stopped hidding behind the sofa in the sixties

 

[upthealbion1970]

It's not just you, it does appear to be quite f***ed up but I'm confident all will be revealed in due course. I am loving it in hd and Dolby digital surround sound although I'm not sure my neighbours appreciate it

 

[supaseagull]

This series is very enjoyable. Best since David Tennant's penultimate series.

 

[brakespear]

Didn't enjoy 11's first series but this second series has been miles better and 'The Doctor's Wife' is one of the best episodes of Who I've seen, old or new.

 

[Frutos]

There are certainly a lot of questions to be answered:

- Who is River Song?
- Who is in the spacesuit?
- What's the deal with the strange regenerating little girl?
- Who is the woman with the eyepatch?
- Is Amy pregnant?

To name but 5....I suspect the answers to some of those will link and overlap, and I'm certainly looking forward to seeing where it all goes.

I think there's something going on with some kind of water theme: Amy POND, RIVER Song, FISH fingers and custard (from The Eleventh Hour), Joe The FISH (mentioned repeatedly in The Impossible Astronaut), then the comment from last night about "the only WATER in the forest is the RIVER". Perhaps even going back to the duckpond in Leadworth in The Eleventh Hour ("How do you know its a duckpond if there aren't any ducks?"). I could be barking up the wrong tree there, but who knows...

 

[vegster]

just about to catch up on Iplayer but yes, so far, it's hard work keeping up.

 

[gripper stebson]

The little lad who played the pirate's son a couple of weeks back is from Seaford and going out with my 12 year old niece!

 

[Acker79]

The latest series seems to have had a lot of money thrown at it, it looks good and effects are light years away from the days of the legendary "BBC gravel pit and man in costume".

Funny you should say that, yesterday's episode was filmed in a quarry.

However, whilst I have enjoyed watching the four episodes that have appeared so far I have left each one with the thought of "what the f*** was that all about" and am starting to long for one where good and bad are nicely defined, I can follow the story and, of course, the Dr wins.

As far as I'm aware, even more so than last year, there is more of a long term story going on.

In the finale of last year we had the doctor put in a box (referenced in the first episode of that year with Matt Smith telling amy he is mad man with box an she should remember that, later he tells the weeping angels that if you want to see tomorrow, if you want to survive he is the one thin you never ever put in a box, there was a scene in the same episode where the doctor tells amy somethin random and then in he finale we see that it is the doctor from the finale, not the same episode.

I think they are taking that sort of stuff to the next level. There was reference to the silence in the last series and that has come back this year. I think it's very much Stephen Moffat's style to have such an long term plan, and that the season finale will make you go back and watch the shows and see things you missed before. Things that leave you going "huh?!"

I for one like that sort of story telling, at least when it is done well.

 

[HastingsSeagull]

Still just don't get it and while I wasn't around for the originals, every episode of modern who I'm forced to sit through just leaves me thinking I've wasted my time. Clearly just don't get what any of the fuss is about.

 

[BLOCK F]

I know it is a money spinner for them,but there is too much time and money spent on Dr.Who.Spread it around a bit more BBC.
Sick to death of all the publicity!
Grumble,grumble!

 

[Papa Lazarou]

I think it's a breath of fresh air to have a popular & successful TV programme that doesn't spoon feed you stories and resolutions. There's enough TV for people who don't want to have to think (X-Factor etc). I'm loving the fact that we don't get answers to every question immediately, and have to think a bit. It also allows the more 'dedicated' fans a whole slew of things to speculate on, which is also a lot of fun.

And I agree, the Doctor's Wife was brilliant.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

I know it is a money spinner for them,but there is too much time and money spent on Dr.Who.Spread it around a bit more BBC.
Sick to death of all the publicity!
Grumble,grumble!

You can't have to both ways - it's either a money spinner, or a drain on BBC resources. Which are you guessing at?

 

[Papa Lazarou]

Still just don't get it and while I wasn't around for the originals, every episode of modern who I'm forced to sit through just leaves me thinking I've wasted my time. Clearly just don't get what any of the fuss is about.

I think it might not be for you then.

 

[DTES]

I think they are taking that sort of stuff to the next level. There was reference to the silence in the last series and that has come back this year. I think it's very much Stephen Moffat's style to have such an long term plan, and that the season finale will make you go back and watch the shows and see things you missed before. Things that leave you going "huh?!"

I for one like that sort of story telling, at least when it is done well.

Absolutely. I know there has to be appeal for viewers who may only watch one episode now and again, but I love the overall story-arc of it all, particularly - as you say - bits that'll make you go back and rewatch.

If this goes back to the previous series (I'm thinking the first episode where there was a) the room that you couldn't remember seeing b) the beast crowing on about "the silence" and c) the extra set of stairs heading up to a floor that you could see from outside doesn't exist) then even better.

Keep it coming.

 

[BLOCK F]

You can't have to both ways - it's either a money spinner, or a drain on BBC resources. Which are you guessing at?

I am not guessing at either.Yes, it is a money spinner for the BBC,but personally,I think that the whole Dr.Who thing has become a 'monster'(excuse the pun) and receives a disproportionate amount of the BBC's resources.......possibly to the detriment of other programmes.Trevor Eve of Waking the Dead fame made a similar claim recently,no doubt pissed off because that very popular and excellent programme is not being recommissioned.He did use rather stronger language than me in commenting on Dr.Who though!

 

[keaton]

I am not guessing at either.Yes, it is a money spinner for the BBC,but personally,I think that the whole Dr.Who thing has become a 'monster'(excuse the pun) and receives a disproportionate amount of the BBC's resources.......possibly to the detriment of other programmes.Trevor Eve of Waking the Dead fame made a similar claim recently,no doubt pissed off because that very popular and excellent programme is not being recommissioned.He did use rather stronger language than me in commenting on Dr.Who though!

But if it makes money they can spend that profit on other shows

 

[sten_super]

I am not guessing at either.Yes, it is a money spinner for the BBC,but personally,I think that the whole Dr.Who thing has become a 'monster'(excuse the pun) and receives a disproportionate amount of the BBC's resources.......possibly to the detriment of other programmes.Trevor Eve of Waking the Dead fame made a similar claim recently,no doubt pissed off because that very popular and excellent programme is not being recommissioned.He did use rather stronger language than me in commenting on Dr.Who though!

Trevor Eve's criticism was entirely sour grapes. He said that there was too much populism in TV in general, but this quote is hilarious;

"I'm not saying that everything popular is bad, but it's desperate when nothing can exist unless it achieves financial rewards."

To accuse the BBC (with all of the complete rubbish it puts out on BBC Three in the name of being 'edgy') of chasing the money across it's output is ridiculous. The Telegraph article on this topic is brilliant, because it prints his criticism, and then casually inserts this sentence...

Together with the BBC's natural history output, they (Dr Who and Top Gear) produced sales of £147m and a profit of £51.5m last year, thanks to foreign countries snapping up the programmes and sales of books, DVDs and other merchandise.

So Doctor Who has a lot of money spent on it, is extremely popular, and still makes a profit for the Beeb. How on earth can that be criticised?

Incidentally, I used to love Waking the Dead, but unfortunately it quickly reduced itself down to Trevor Eve becoming more and more enraged and weird with no logic, until suddenly he was proved right at the end of the show. It was incredibly formulaic.

 

[Simster]

Sten is absolutely right, on both Dr Who and Waking the Dead. I watch Dr Who these days because I have kids who love it, and because it is somewhat off the wall. The idea of the Tardis morphing into human form this week was absolutely great. Conversely, Waking the Dead became formulaic a long time ago, and seemed more interested in shocking it's viewers with ever increasing notoriety and gruesomeness of the crime than anything clever in the script. It became very boring after a while.

 

[DTES]

Incidentally, I used to love Waking the Dead, but unfortunately it quickly reduced itself down to Trevor Eve becoming more and more enraged and weird with no logic, until suddenly he was proved right at the end of the show. It was incredibly formulaic.

I was about to say I agree with that, then suddenly realised that it also applied to House, which I love despite such a formula. Odd...