tin_robot wrote:

I thought the new Doctor Who was... alright.  Fairly predictably the problems with it have nothing to do with Jodie Whittaker (who seemed perfectly suited to the role, even if she did seem to play it with just a hint of Barry Chuckle).  It was just a bit bland, I thought - the kids were bored by it too, which is never a great sign.   That said, post-regeneration episodes are almost always a bit of a damp squib (I'd say Matt Smith's was the exception), so I'll hang in there a while and see how the show settles in. Also, the latest iteration of the theme is the best it's been in a while, so that at least brought a smile to my face.  (Even if we had to wait for it.)

I thought it was dreadful. So bad in fact, that I fell asleep...twice.
I don't care for the woman that's playing the Doctor. Haven't liked her in anything I've seen her in tbf, and her politically correct posse did nothing for me either. The writing was piss tier, and even the theme tune which initially seemed like an improvement was spoiled by a rhythm track that sounded like a preset on a Bontempi.
I'll give it a few episodes, but the prognosis is bleak.

Doctor, you've a woman's hand.

g.man wrote:

tin_robot wrote:

I thought the new Doctor Who was... alright.  Fairly predictably the problems with it have nothing to do with Jodie Whittaker (who seemed perfectly suited to the role, even if she did seem to play it with just a hint of Barry Chuckle).  It was just a bit bland, I thought - the kids were bored by it too, which is never a great sign.   That said, post-regeneration episodes are almost always a bit of a damp squib (I'd say Matt Smith's was the exception), so I'll hang in there a while and see how the show settles in. Also, the latest iteration of the theme is the best it's been in a while, so that at least brought a smile to my face.  (Even if we had to wait for it.)

I thought it was dreadful. So bad in fact, that I fell asleep...twice.
I don't care for the woman that's playing the Doctor. Haven't liked her in anything I've seen her in tbf, and her politically correct posse did nothing for me either. The writing was piss tier, and even the theme tune which initially seemed like an improvement was spoiled by a rhythm track that sounded like a preset on a Bontempi.
I'll give it a few episodes, but the prognosis is bleak.

I was a regular watcher until Peter Capaldi took the reins. So i skipped his tour as Doctor. On a sidenote was he any good/good episodes?

Only came back to it because of Jodie. Curious to see how it plays out with a woman as the Doctor. Something that should have happened awhile ago.
Only partway through the opening epsiode but its been a ok ish beginning. David Tennant and Matt Smith were both very good doctors. Very few if any epsiodes of Doctor Who stick in my mind but the Vincent Van Gogh one had a fantastic payoff at the end.

Does anyone else recall doctor who in the 80s being much more scarier and sinister than what we have had had recently?

Dinostar77 wrote:

g.man wrote:

tin_robot wrote:

I thought the new Doctor Who was... alright.  Fairly predictably the problems with it have nothing to do with Jodie Whittaker (who seemed perfectly suited to the role, even if she did seem to play it with just a hint of Barry Chuckle).  It was just a bit bland, I thought - the kids were bored by it too, which is never a great sign.   That said, post-regeneration episodes are almost always a bit of a damp squib (I'd say Matt Smith's was the exception), so I'll hang in there a while and see how the show settles in. Also, the latest iteration of the theme is the best it's been in a while, so that at least brought a smile to my face.  (Even if we had to wait for it.)

I thought it was dreadful. So bad in fact, that I fell asleep...twice.
I don't care for the woman that's playing the Doctor. Haven't liked her in anything I've seen her in tbf, and her politically correct posse did nothing for me either. The writing was piss tier, and even the theme tune which initially seemed like an improvement was spoiled by a rhythm track that sounded like a preset on a Bontempi.
I'll give it a few episodes, but the prognosis is bleak.

I was a regular watcher until Peter Capaldi took the reins. So i skipped his tour as Doctor. On a sidenote was he any good/good episodes?

Only came back to it because of Jodie. Curious to see how it plays out with a woman as the Doctor. Something that should have happened awhile ago.
Only partway through the opening epsiode but its been a ok ish beginning. David Tennant and Matt Smith were both very good doctors. Very few if any epsiodes of Doctor Who stick in my mind but the Vincent Van Gogh one had a fantastic payoff at the end.

Does anyone else recall doctor who in the 80s being much more scarier and sinister than what we have had had recently?

I recall being a child in the 80s and therefore finding most things scarier.

bad_hair_day wrote:

Doctor, you've a woman's hand.

Haha.

poprock wrote:

I loved Sharp Objects. Amazing stuff. And yeah, that ending. FUCK!

You did make it to the post-credits sequence, yeah? Well, mid-credits I guess. (Spoiler tags if you wanna talk about it, of course.)

I did and it was glorious.

You can't MacGyver a sonic screw driver out of scrap no matter how shit your 80's montage is.

Just finished some Dirk Gently. Quite an enjoyable romp. Peculiar given how perturbing increasingly wizened man child/homunculus Frodo is.

I get it, Matt Smith’s first Tardis interior used to annoy me for the junkyard cobbled together look. Always been part of Who, likely down to budget originally, but now part of the lore that he/she can make advanced tech out of anything lying around.

Dinostar77 wrote:

g.man wrote:

tin_robot wrote:

I thought the new Doctor Who was... alright.  Fairly predictably the problems with it have nothing to do with Jodie Whittaker (who seemed perfectly suited to the role, even if she did seem to play it with just a hint of Barry Chuckle).  It was just a bit bland, I thought - the kids were bored by it too, which is never a great sign.   That said, post-regeneration episodes are almost always a bit of a damp squib (I'd say Matt Smith's was the exception), so I'll hang in there a while and see how the show settles in. Also, the latest iteration of the theme is the best it's been in a while, so that at least brought a smile to my face.  (Even if we had to wait for it.)

I thought it was dreadful. So bad in fact, that I fell asleep...twice. I don't care for the woman that's playing the Doctor. Haven't liked her in anything I've seen her in tbf, and her politically correct posse did nothing for me either. The writing was piss tier, and even the theme tune which initially seemed like an improvement was spoiled by a rhythm track that sounded like a preset on a Bontempi. I'll give it a few episodes, but the prognosis is bleak.

I was a regular watcher until Peter Capaldi took the reins. So i skipped his tour as Doctor. On a sidenote was he any good/good episodes? Only came back to it because of Jodie. Curious to see how it plays out with a woman as the Doctor. Something that should have happened awhile ago. Only partway through the opening epsiode but its been a ok ish beginning. David Tennant and Matt Smith were both very good doctors. Very few if any epsiodes of Doctor Who stick in my mind but the Vincent Van Gogh one had a fantastic payoff at the end. Does anyone else recall doctor who in the 80s being much more scarier and sinister than what we have had had recently?

Capaldi's arc got off to a strange start because it kicked off with an unfinished arc from Smith's era. It took a while to warm up to him, for me personally. His first season had a really bleak feel to it due to the main season arc. It painted him in a different, colder light than Smith. It grows with repeat viewing though.

Second season had a rather obtuse season-long arc, and a couple of really nice high-concept episodes usually involving guitars. There is one standout episode however which singlehandedly, completely elevates the series above all others of the new-Who period. Complemented by a perfectly fitting soundtrack, one motif in particular which recurs from then on. Easily my favourite episode and on another tier than even Blink (which itself was fantastic). Capaldi is the only one who could have carried it.

I watched the third Capaldi season last week in prep for the new one. Bill is perhaps my favourite of the companions now, just wide-eyed optimism, unfiltered. Nardole has no rights to be as good as he is either. There's a three-part run in this series which is *almost* up there with Blink in the initial outlay, but it doesnt quite pay off. But it is the grounding for the final act, which I really can't fault. Not as grandiose as the end of Smith's run (Night/Day/Time of the Doctor) but certainly more sentimental.

I loved Smith's run, hell, all the modern ones have been thoroughly enjoyable with only a few duff episodes per season at most. Capaldi's is my favourite though. Such a wonderful interpretation and well worth the unease it begins with as you work out his anxieties, his fears, and where he stands. 

Whittaker on the other hand ...
She looks like a really, really different take on the character. Like a deliberately earnest dag (in a good way). The tone of the episode is very much out of whack with the previous 3, but not in a bad way. It looks very clean, almost feels like Blade Runner 2049 in an odd way; something youve waited 20 years for that feels unlike its precursor but with the same DNA.

Dinostar77 wrote:

I was a regular watcher until Peter Capaldi took the reins. So i skipped his tour as Doctor. On a sidenote was he any good/good episodes?

He was good, but the writing for him was atrocious. He deserved far better.

I did particularly like the episode Heaven Sent though, which is Episode 11 of Season 9. I also liked The Husbands of River Song, which is the Christmas special  after that series, although that might rest more on how much you like River Song.

I can't claim to be as positive about Capaldi's run as Vela, but think he was actually very good, simply let down by scripts that were frequently either too interested in other characters (hello Clara), too reminiscent of previous episodes, or too bogged down in continuity that many viewers simply didn't care about.  (Or just plain lazy.)

I also thought it took Capaldi a little while to settle in to the character (or perhaps for the writers to use him properly).  There are, however, various moments in which he is the most "Doctor Who" Doctor of them all, so it's a shame that I thought he was badly let down by the material.

If you can't be bothered to watch them, but want a single episode that sums up his Doctor - watch "Heaven Sent" from his second series (it's pretty much Capaldi on his own).  If you want to more thoroughly catch up with him, watch his final series with Bill - as Vela says she's a vastly superior companion, and Capaldi gives his all throughout.

I really liked Sharp Objects, wouldn't have seen the ending credits if i hadn't had spoken to a colleague about it. Mental!

g.man wrote:

Vela wrote:

Complemented by a perfectly fitting soundtrack, one motif in particular which recurs from then on. Easily my favourite episode and on another tier than even Blink (which itself was fantastic). Capaldi is the only one who could have carried it.

This perhaps?

Whereas Doctor Who’s first episode is a clear cut reboot, The Walking Dead’s season opener is the shame old shite. Being called ‘A New Beginning ‘ makes it even more ridiculous.