Doctor Who SF Reboot! - Series 7 part 2

[Ithilwen]

I ws wondering if anyone knows how to get a copy of the Movie that came out in the 90's.
I tried finding it on the internet, and only found a site that didn't allow veiwing in the U.S.

Do you mean to buy? They have the DVD on Amazon here.



~Riella

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Don't bother, the movie is terrible.

[King_Erlian]

The Angels Take Manhattan... utterly brilliant! And very, very sad...

Don't bother, the movie is terrible.

The script was weak, but Paul McGann was excellent as the Doctor. And I liked the Gothic interior of his Tardis - it looked like something alien, rather than a stage set.

[Puddleglum]

Thanks Ithilwen, but I usually don't buy a movie until seeing it first. That's why I was looking for a site that allowed viewing. Someone at work suggested a site for older films, I shall have to give it a go.
I believe it was Paul McGann who played a minore role of a girlish dandy in the three Musketeers of the early 90's.

[Louloudi the Centaur]

So, I've only seen one episode of Series 7 part 1, and I have to wait for Netflix since I do not have BBC America. Does anyone have any information about a DVD release as of yet?

Oh dear, I've only seen about half of the 1996 Doctor Who movie... it was pretty not good, let's say that. Poor Seventh Doctor, killed off by some terrible doctors who failed to listen after he said only five lines of dialogue. At least Paul McGann got some better audio adventures after this train wreck I'd like to listen to.

Slightly strange observance, but does anyone else find it kind of funny that tonight's episode featuring Weeping Angels aired on All Angel's Day?

Until I can see Series 7 Part 1... Geronimo!

[stargazer]

Louloudi, during "The Angels Take Manhattan" they advertised a release date of November 13 for Series 7 Part 1.

The Doctor Who In America special was rather interesting to watch as there was a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff about recent seasons.

Before seeing "The Angels Take Manhattan" I couldn't help thinking about The Muppets Take Manhattan. I also was reminded of Gargoyles - that series featured creatures who were stone statues (that came alive at night) and was set in Manhattan. (Though the gargoyles were for the most part protagonists rather than villains).

"Living statues that move in the dark" = gargoyles as well as the Angels, after all.

I was wondering how they were going to say farewell to Amy and Rory given that the Angels send you back in time - but they have a time machine! They did come up with a way around this.

I liked the Sam Spade (30s private eye) opening that frames the story - and Melody Malone's book.

I found the cherubim (baby angels), with their squeaky little laughs, creepier than their adult counterparts.

Overall, I liked this farewell to Amy and Rory.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

The Power of Three. Better than A Town Called Mercy and a vast improvement on Dinosaurs On A Spaceship. Really enjoyed this one. It was great to see the 'ordinary' lives of the Ponds when they weren't gallivanting through time and space with the Doctor. Great character moments and humour too. Last quarter of the episode felt a bit rushed though and resolved itself too quickly.



I'm actually glad the Ponds are leaving next week. I enjoyed my time with them. But companions get old after they've stayed on for too long. And I think they've stayed on for too long. I like it much better when the companions are on for a shorter amount of time so that they still feel a bit fresh and fun when they go. Otherwise the last memories of them are more strained and dull.

I'm really starting to feel the same about the Eleventh Doctor as well.

Ithilwen,
Amy and Rory haven't been companions for longer than most of the Doctor's other companions throughout the series (old and new). Let's remember that classic Who seasons were generally much longer (20-40 episodes) than the new seasons (13-14 episodes).
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Doctor_Who_serials

Also, how can you already be sick of the Eleventh Doctor? We've only had 2.5 seasons of him so far! Only Christopher Eccleston has had a shorter run as the Doctor.

[Hermitess of Narnia]

I haven't seen series 7, so if I've skipped something important in the previous posts it is because I'm avoiding spoilers.

The Doctor Who movie is darker than the rest of the series, I enjoyed seeing it because it had a different style of filming, but the script would have posed serious problems for Doctor Who as we know it today, if they had continued and Fox had made a full series, so I am sort of glad they did not.

[Ithilwen]

Ithilwen,
Amy and Rory haven't been companions for longer than most of the Doctor's other companions throughout the series (old and new). Let's remember that classic Who seasons were generally much longer (20-40 episodes) than the new seasons (13-14 episodes).

They've been on for two and a half seasons, which is longer than any other NuWho companion. They haven't been on as long as Classic Who companions, but the newer episodes are in a different format than those, and that makes a difference. It just seems to me like their character arc was stretched a bit too far. Plus, comparing the length of time with those of past companions doesn't really work. Each character is different, and the length of time each character should be on the show varies case-by-case. There isn't any set number.

Also, how can you already be sick of the Eleventh Doctor? We've only had 2.5 seasons of him so far!

I'm not going by time comparisons in this case either. Rather, it's because I'm not overly fond of him. And the way his personality is written doesn't interest me as long as previous Doctors did. He seems a bit over-the-top, to me, to last in any meaningful long-term way. Kind of like the grand finale of a fireworks show. At first the big bangs of the rockets blow you away. But keep the grand finale going too long and it just gets old.


~Riella

[stargazer]

*dusts off thread*

Hey, Doctor Who fans! We're closing this thread (and giving it a nice bump) - but fear not!

It'll reopen about a week before the Christmas Special airs (December 25 in the UK). See you then!

[stargazer]

And...we're back!

Just in time for the 2012 Christmas special, called "The Snowmen." It will air Christmas Day at 5.15 pm on BBC1 and at 9 pm EST on BBC America.

The first link includes a trailer for the episode, set in snowy Victorian London in 1892 and featuring Jenna-Louise Coleman as the next companion.

[Bookwyrm]

So new Christmas special. Much, much better than last year's Christmas special, which I thought was schmaltzy rubbish. It was fun to get to see Vastra and Co. again and I would love to see them get their own spinoff now that Doctor Who is back to being the sole TV series in the franchise. The bad guys were high on concept, low on actually interesting execution though various online articles have assured me that apparently this encounter directly causes an encounter the Second Doctor had with the Great Intelligence, which I absolutely love the idea of. Also, Ian McKellen voicing a bad guy is never a bad idea. And now we've had both of the iconic older male film wizards on Doctor Who.

But it's the new companion a lot of people were most excited about this episode for and here's where I run smack into my biggest problem with Moffat's writing. He writes a fantastic Spunky Action Girl. She's quirky, funny, has a level head and doesn't take crap from anybody. Problem is, almost every singly female character Moffat creates is the exact same Spunky Action Girl. Take any of Amy's, River's, or Clara's lines without their catchphrases and write them on paper and it'll look like the same character talking. They might have different backgrounds and skillsets, but their dialogue and actions are pretty much identical across all three characters. Moffat's been tremendously fortunate that casting has resulted in actors charismatic enough to actually differentiate the characters because the writing certainly doesn't. Jenna-Louise Coleman is absolutely fantastic in the role, but if she's going to do nothing over her tenure as a companion but be a brunette Amy, I really don't see the point in getting rid of the Ponds.

[starkat]

Yeah. I thought they were trying hard to bring back a character who was very similar to Donna. I think Clara's a cross between Donna and Amy. I just want them to stay away from the "companion falls in love with the Doctor" storyline.

[stargazer]

Ditto these comments on last night's Christmas special. It did feel more like the Who episodes of old.

Bookwyrm, thanks for that connection to the Second Doctor and the Great Intelligence. As you said, the snowmen were an interesting concept but fell short in being very ominous.

Also liked seeing Vastra and friends again. Some slapstick humor there. And Clara's "It's smaller on the outside"

Like most, I was most interested in the introduction of Clara, who reminded me a little of Donna as well. I'm looking forward to the resolution of this 'girl who died twice' arc, and I liked that the Doctor recognizes her as 'souffle girl' from the Dalek Asylum. The rumours are flying on the internet as to what it all might mean, and how it'll tie into the 50th anniversary.

[Louloudi the Centaur]

I have finally caught up on Doctor Who Series 7, and have seen the Christmas special.

I am actually kind of glad the Ponds left now. There really wasn't any story arc left for them. Besides, I didn't really like The Angels Take Manhattan. It may be just me, but I have not found the Weeping Angels to be that frightening, especially post-Blink.

Well, I think the Chris Chibnall episodes are improving, on a positive note. They may have been more for pure fun, but they certainly were. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship showed a darker side to the Eleventh Doctor towards the end, if you know what I mean. Power of Three had quite the interesting plot, albeit a rushed ending that did not make much sense to me.

Now the Christmas special was great. I thought it was better than the 2011 one, but I can't judge a Christmas Carol since I have not seen that. However, writers: please stop making the companions kiss out of romance! If you know about the First Doctor's history, it's just... unsettling. The Doctor loves each and every companion in different ways, but does every show have to have a romance? On the up side, I did like Clara other than the one scene. I wonder what her next "incarnation" (I'm just calling her next life that) will be like?

[Bookwyrm]

Yes! So tired of every new companion having a crush on the Doctor. I think Donna is the only female companion to have escaped this. It's just not interesting anymore. I didn't even find it that interesting when Rose did it.

I think the reason why the Angels were so frightening in Blink was because it was just normal people like the viewer dealing with them. They really aren't a threat to a time traveler, much less a quasi-immortal like the Doctor and so they have to keep manufacturing increasingly absurd scenarios in order for them to be a threat to the Doctor. If we ever see them again, I'd prefer it to be an episode completely absent of the Doctor. Something like Turn Left where the companion is on their own and has to survive based upon their own wits.