Ultimate Doctor Who Madness

[Agrajag]

While I still like Creepy Eye Lady just fine myself, I do agree that her appearances would be much better if she said something each time instead of just showing up. And it should always be something that seems strange and nonsensical until the proper context is finally given in the final episode, which strings each non-sequitur phrase into a cohesive whole when viewed in the proper order.

Yes, that is exactly what I was hoping for when she first started appearing, and I've been a little let down. Especially because she's shown in the trailer for Rebel Flesh (and also in next week's trailer). I figured this meant something was going to happen with her, but basically the two second shot in the trailer is the entire extent of what happened in the episode.

[frazzledog]

(EDIT: On further reflection, maybe Time of Angels is the comparable two-parter from last year, in which case Rebel Flesh is a let-down)

If I've heard properly, and I kind of hope I haven't, episode 7 and 8 are also supposed to be two parters, which would probably make them comparable to time of the angels. but if I'm right, I am going to go CRAZY while waiting for doctor who to come back on

[Joopac_Badur]

Some Last Thoughts On The Doctor's Wife
After blocking out the awesomest of Sexy and the Doctor, I was able to look at the episode a little more objectively. While I think House's torture of Amy was pretty creative, I found the TARDIS corridors unworthy of their hype. For all the buster about seeing old rooms, I thought it was kind of a let down to only see the same hallway over and over and then seeing the Corral control room ... well meh.

And yeah, what the fuck, Rory dead again? I'm at the point that I don't even care. It's Moffat's little joke.

Also, after some more consideration, I'm also resigned that River is not Sexy in a future form. To explain away all the complications would be ... just too convoluted. Even for Doctor Who.

Rebel Flesh
Yeah, like many two-parters in Doctor Who, there's one episode that's really awesome and one that's meh. Seriously, aside from say Human Nature/Family of Blood and Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone, has there been a two parter where both seemed fantastic? I imagine the next episode will be much better especially with there being a Plastic Doctor now.

Also, did anyone catch how the Doctor acted like he knew the whole situation already? He made comments like "I've still got time to fix this," as if he was dropping in on a historical event to deliberately change it. "Old technology" he called the Flesh. Could perhaps this be the origin of the Nestine Conscious and the Autons?

Also, lulz at Rory. When chick talks about feeling like she's going to die and Rory simply saying, "Welcome to my life."

[Agrajag]

Yeah the TARDIS hallways were a big letdown. But I assume it's because they spent too much money on sets for the rest of the episode and so didn't have the budget to really show you lots of rooms inside the TARDIS.

Seriously, aside from say Human Nature/Family of Blood and Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone...

I wouldn't even count those two. I really don't like the Human Nature/Family of Blood two-parter (although I haven't seen it in a while, so maybe it's less dumb than I remember). And while Time of Angels was awesome, I thought Flesh and Stone was a bit of a letdown. I think The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances is a good two parter. Sontaran Strategem/The Poison Sky is also pretty good. And I liked this season's opener a lot (Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon).

[Jim North]

While I think House's torture of Amy was pretty creative, I found the TARDIS corridors unworthy of their hype. For all the buster about seeing old rooms, I thought it was kind of a let down to only see the same hallway over and over and then seeing the Corral control room ... well meh.

Thing is, while they might have only shown hallways this time, that's 1) still more than we've seen before in the new series, with the only other non-control room section seen before being the closet, and 2) an indication that yet more rooms will be made and shown in the future. Even if you weren't wowed by the corridors themselves, this is still very much a step in the right direction.

And yeah, what the fuck, Rory dead again? I'm at the point that I don't even care. It's Moffat's little joke.

While Rory dying has become ridiculous in and of itself, I'm just jazzed they did it right this time. The major problem I've had with the previous instances was that there wasn't really any emotional content to them. Stock hazards and cliche scenes. We can watch CPR on any old show. DW needs something a little more.

I'm not saying I don't want them to stop with the Rory death scenes. I do want them to stop. I'm just saying I'm glad they managed to not fuck it up at least once.

Seriously, aside from say Human Nature/Family of Blood and Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone, has there been a two parter where both seemed fantastic?

I'm pretty happy with all the parts of both of Ten's Cybermen two-parters, personally. And the library two-parter, even if it did introduce my nefarious nemesis, River Song.

Could perhaps this be the origin of the Nestine Conscious and the Autons?

Hmm. I did think of the Nestene while watching the episode, but except for taking on the appearance of other people, they're not really the same. The Nestene is plastic where the Flesh seems to be more of a biological substance, and while the Autons have the same general copying limit as everything else in the DW universe (that being the need to keep a telepathic link with the person they're copying), the Flesh seems to be able to imprint another person's consciousness completely and permanently without having to keep the real person alive.

Of course, I just said "seems" there twice. The second episode may give more and/or harder information, but at the moment it would appear that for the Flesh to become the Nestene, they'd actually have to take a few steps backward in their sophistication.

[Joopac_Badur]

Hmmm, I forgot about the Empty Child/Doctor Dances episodes. And I guess the first Cybermen two-parter was good all the way through. And of course the opener for this series was very good.

While Rory dying has become ridiculous in and of itself, I'm just jazzed they did it right this time.

Very true. Actually, one of the things I've really liked about the Matt Smith/Moffat era is how much more time travel is used as a plot element. In the RTD years, it was mostly used as just a means to get to that episode's setting, but now it's actually a big part of what's going on in the story. Makes it feel much more ... well, like a time travel show.

[Agrajag]

Just finished The Almost People. I think maybe Moffat shouldn't be in charge any more, this shit is getting too crazy. Can we just have some nice normal Doctor Who eps for a while? Not that I didn't enjoy it. It's just that this whole season's over-arching story thing is crazy as balls. Maybe too crazy as balls.

[frazzledog]

I absolutely enjoyed this episode, and I love the whole story arc. I talk to a lot of brits (when I hear their accent, I ask them if they watch dr who) and most of them say they can't get into Smith's episodes, because it's too american. Which may be a problem, but I like crazy as balls. I mean, I AM crazy as balls, so that might just be me

ACTUAL SPOILERS FOR THE ALMOST PEOPLE FOLLOW. IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT, WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING ON THE INTERNET?

I guessed that eye patch lady was a pregnancy doctor. And I used to like her, like, honestly, she was awesome. She's obviously working with the silence though. Looking back on it, when Rory came to recuse Amy, she was in one of those harness things. Really, one of us should have picked up on it during rebel flesh

[Jim North]

The things I liked about The Almost People: Rory bringing out the big guns, and the ending.

The thing that tipped an already borderline bad episode into completely terrible territory: Gosh, how TOTALLY CONVENIENT that no doubles survived! Thank goodness we were able to COMPLETELY SIDESTEP the entire point of contention of these two episodes. After all, having to actually decide what to do if we'd had two Jimmys for the birthday boy to call daddy would have just been WAY TOO COMPLICATED for the writers to handle.

Jiminy Christmas, I'm sick and tired of clone stories that take the easy way out like this. Congratulations, The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People, you are completely inferior to The 6th Day and Multiplicity. Do you feel good about yourself? DO YOU?!

The fact that it was utterly predictable that this was exactly what was going to happen doesn't help matters any. It just got me depressed early. Most clone stories in general just tend to depress me because they're so damn ridiculous most of the time. "We am clones, therefore we am must fight to death!" Puh-leeze. To their credit, however, at least they did have some justification for that in this story, since the Flesh itself was wanting revenge and trying to push the Gangers into it.

I'm also still unhappy with the fact that this was a two-parter even though there was no reason for it whatsoever, and I'm not exactly thrilled about said two-parter basically just being a setup for the overall arc while completely fucking up the story of its own that it was trying to tell.

Also, wow. Creepy Eye Lady is way uglier in closeup than I was expecting.

Speaking of her, tho', back to the ending. One of the reasons I liked it was because it's balls-to-the-walls crazy. And the thing is, this is nice, normal Doctor Who, really. The vast majority of the classic series was made up of absolutely crazy insane mind-bending shit like this. The more straightforward episodes are really the ones that are out of the norm.

[Agrajag]

Yeah, I mean I totally expected it to end up that there was no more than one of each person left since that's what usually happens with this type of thing, but I hoped that wouldn't be the case. I was actually really hoping for some Farscape-like shit where we end up with two Doctor's for an extended period of time.

Looking back on it, when Rory came to recuse Amy, she was in one of those harness things.

When does this happen?

[frazzledog]

Looking back on it, when Rory came to recuse Amy, she was in one of those harness things.

When does this happen?

i am fail. I was wrong, its not a harness thingy at all

[Jim North]

Oh hey, I just realized some good news . . . no more having to look at that pregnancy-in-flux graphic anymore! Hooray!

[frazzledog]

at least we know WHY it was in flux... Ganger wasn't preggers, but real amy was

[Jim North]

First I just wanna say I thought this was pretty cool. A nice little piece. I think the blue guy is the one Cap'n Jack was dealing with at some point, wasn't it? The one he got the starburst or whatever from when the Daleks were stealing planets? I unno. Anyway. If it is him, that's a really nice touch. And I like that the Silence (I mean, obviously it's them, right?) are wearing cloaks so they don't have to worry about the guy forgetting they're even there should he happen to so much as glance to one side. Makes doing business so much easier.

(EDIT: I've been reminded that the blue guy is actually the one that River dealt with in The Pandorica Opens.)

But, all that aside . . . I think the big question we've got to ask ourselves here is, who exactly is the "good man" in the title? I'm sure we're supposed to believe it refers to the Doctor, of course. But what if it's Rory? Which would mean that Rory will die. Again. And by River's hand.

Sigh.

[Monkeychewtoy]

It's worth noting that the Silents kidnapped Amy's doppelganger, not Amy. She saw the lady before she was taken in her daughter's room. She was probably already a 'ganger when she got the telepathic communicator/recorder device implanted in her hand in the TARDIS. She might even have already been a 'ganger at the beginning of this season.