Dr. Who, Season 7 & 8

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Markbnj

Markbnj

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I'm a big fan of the modern BBC version of this show, and just finished watching seasons 7 and 8 on Netflix. Did anyone else feel like these two seasons were a bit of a step down from 5 and 6? I thought Matt Smith was one of the best Doctors, and I loved Karen Gillan as the companion. I had a hard time warming up to Capaldi and the bitter, cynical spin the writers put on the character. Jenna Coleman was fine, although she takes perky to intergalactic levels. The writing also seemed to get a little more whacked. Doctor Who has always had a kind of camp overtone to the storylines, obviously, but season 8 especially seemed to get a little silly.
 
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DaveSimmons

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One person I talked to described it as "the Clara show," and it's hard to disagree. Her "space dad" became more of a supporting character than the lead.

There were some high points like with Mary Poppins, and with Clara's boyfriend calling the Doctor on being an officer. He isn't the first to point out that the Doctor has a history of not using a gun, but getting others to use theirs.
 
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artemicion

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I agree, though you'll find a diverse array of opinions on Dr. Who and Capaldi/Clara in particular.

First half of Season 7 (with Amy/Rory) was good, second half (Clara) was meh, with the notable exception of the Day of the Doctor special, which I thought was excellent.

Season 8 was overall very meh. IMO, "Listen" was the only worthwhile episode, everything else was pretty forgettable.

I think the problem with Clara is that she doesn't have an overarching narrative across her tenure. She's just ... there, for the most part. Doing her job competently but without being very interesting. I do like the banter between Capaldi's Doctor and Clara though.
 
ImpulsE69

ImpulsE69

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I do think the earlier seasons were better, and I didn't particularly care for Matt Smith as a whole for the doctor, but I really liked Karen Gillan as well as Jenna Coleman(I has the hots for her) and there are some really really good episodes during Matt Smith's run. The thing with Clara though is she was better as a mystery. Once she became a companion they completely changed her personality - and it followed into Capaldi.

I like Peter Capaldi as the new doctor (but I'm a fan of him in general), but I think the episodes they've had so far with him are not very good at all. I do really like the new Master though so we'll see where that goes. As much as I like Clara they need a new companion for him..I don't really care for the interaction between them at this point.
 
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cronos

cronos

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Yeah, I'm not exactly a huge fan of Capaldi's cranky doctor either. Season 8 is also definitely not a particularly strong season. However, I actually liked the more campy episodes, when most people hate them. I think a good example is the Robin Hood one. I enjoyed that.

I think there's a reason Moffat made the Doctor this way, though. He's always had this very long story arc in multiple seasons, so hopefully we'll get to that this coming season. There's also still something 'off' with Clara, and I don't think we have *really* been shown who Clara really is and what her purpose is (despite that we knew she dropped inside the Doctor's timeline and was fated to save all the different Doctors). So let's see if we'll get a good explanation and ending for the Clara story.

What made it harder for the fans with the current storyline is the fact that the story arc of Amy Pond is simply amazing story telling. Right from the time she started to be around the Doctor (that little girl with a go bag ready to go, but had to wait 12 years until the doctor came back for her), and the expose of who she ended up being (Melody, etc.). Everything was just perfect. It's tough to compete with this story.
 
Kaido

Kaido

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cronos said:
What made it harder for the fans with the current storyline is the fact that the story arc of Amy Pond is simply amazing story telling. Right from the time she started to be around the Doctor (that little girl with a go bag ready to go, but had to wait 12 years until the doctor came back for her), and the expose of who she ended up being (Melody, etc.). Everything was just perfect. It's tough to compete with this story.
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That & she was actually a really interesting character. I liked her more than Rose. I've had a super difficult time getting into the new Doctor...I watched a few episodes but gave up. Too mean & I can't understand what he's saying! :p
 
Fanatical Meat

Fanatical Meat

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I'm not a huge Dr. Who fan but I enjoy some of them occasionally. I agree this Doctor is thoroughly boring.
 
DigDog

DigDog

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i think anything with matt smith in it should burn in hell.

capaldi is pretty bad, but the writing is worse than the acting. and yet still better than anything with matt smith because the entire series should burn in hell in a vat of acid.

'not going to go on a 1-hour rant with step by step descriptions of why anything after tennant is crap, but just saying that if you like any of the new who, you can watch anything: probably East Enders, that should be right up your street.

shit. i feel a rant coming on.
 
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Exophase

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I thought the last couple specials with Matt Smith were good but season 8 and Peter Capaldi's Doctor have been seriously meh. Capaldi's Doctor spends too much of the time trying to be Dr. House and it doesn't work for the character.

One thing that really gets to me in general is time travel stories that use irrational paradoxes as lazy plot devices where they're actually treated as clever or at least cute. This happens in just about every time travel story I see on TV or in movies. The previous showrunner (Russell T Davies) wasn't TOO bad about it but the current one (Stephan Moffat) has shoved them in all over the place. So that's one thing that has put me off more with the show.

The other thing is that the recurring plotlines have gotten so stale. They go through heavy gynmnastics to keep reintroducing Daleks, Cyberman, and The Master only for the plots to be rehashes just about every time. They're clearly running out of ideas.

cronos said:
Yeah, I'm not exactly a huge fan of Capaldi's cranky doctor either. Season 8 is also definitely not a particularly strong season. However, I actually liked the more campy episodes, when most people hate them. I think a good example is the Robin Hood one. I enjoyed that.
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The Robin Hood episode was maybe the best example of the season of how annoying I find the new Doctor. Any of the previous three Doctors would have been fascinated by the situation and open minded about the possibility of a historical Robin Hood, but this guy was just cynical about it to the point of irrationality despite being someone who should know better. And really mean about it. Total Flat Earth Atheist, doesn't fit the character at all.
 
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Imp

Imp

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I actually like Capaldi. His cynicism and angry old man thing is new/different compared to the past few Doctors.

Smith is still my favorite. I can't really get into any of the David Tennant episodes, but I do like the specials. Truth is I probably only started watching in earnest because Karen Gillan showed up. Scottish, red head, very tall? Okay.

The way they handled the relationship thing with Amy was also good. Rory wasn't that likeable at the beginning, but he really grew on me and the Amy/Rory relationship worked very well.

I like Clara and she was really good in season 7... Then season 8 happened and her relationship with, I can't even remember his name, just seemed too forced -- he seemed likeable as a person and the actor seemed cool though. It felt like Dead Like Me season 2:

George is a virgin? Get George laid. Don't do anything other character development until George gets laid.

There are a few good season 8 episodes where her boyfriend takes a backseat.
 
Markbnj

Markbnj

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DaveSimmons said:
There were some high points like with Mary Poppins, and with Clara's boyfriend calling the Doctor on being an officer. He isn't the first to point out that the Doctor has a history of not using a gun, but getting others to use theirs.
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Yeah I agree that storyline with "PE" was probably the most interesting plotline, and it ended... sort of well. I enjoyed "The Master" as well and got a laugh out of the Mary Poppins scene... but I still don't understand what the hell she was after. It seemed at the end like all she wanted was his attention.
 
Markbnj

Markbnj

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ImpulsE69 said:
The thing with Clara though is she was better as a mystery. Once she became a companion they completely changed her personality - and it followed into Capaldi.
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The whole "Impossible Girl" thing just seemed to die out in season 8. It was Matt Smith's main concern for awhile, and then I guess Capaldi couldn't really remember who she was. But they never seemed to revisit it in any detail. Maybe in season 9.

There's also still something 'off' with Clara, and I don't think we have *really* been shown who Clara really is and what her purpose is (despite that we knew she dropped inside the Doctor's timeline and was fated to save all the different Doctors). So let's see if we'll get a good explanation and ending for the Clara story.
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Right, exactly. Hopefully they will pick it back up.
 
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Crono

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Not a huge fan of the Twelfth Doctor. You see him grow a little through Season 8, but he's less whimsical than the previous doctors of the new series, all of whom I liked. He's eccentric, sure, but too dry and severe at times. Part of that is the change and bitterness of this incarnation, but it's also Capaldi. I much preferred Smith and Tennant. Even John Hurt (the War Doctor) would have been better.
 
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The Boston Dangler

The Boston Dangler

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Markbnj said:
I thought Matt Smith was one of the best Doctors
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opinion.jpg
 
DigDog

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artemicion

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I've no desire to get into a nerd-war over the best doctor, so I won't criticize anybody else's choice for best doctor, but Matt Smith was one of my favorites as well. Partly because the production quality for the show as a whole shot up dramatically starting with Season 5. But I also thought the Amy/Rory/River Song stories were more interesting. I liked the long-term narrative they brought to the show, as opposed to the random teasers/"seeds" they planted in other seasons (like the random "Bad Wolf" references during the Rose era, or Missy randomly showing up at the end of Season 8 episodes).
 
SMOGZINN

SMOGZINN

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WelshBloke said:
Good, because that's Tom Baker. :colbert:
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Agreed. I also think Mat Smith was able to bring back some of the mad scientist to the Doctor, which I liked. I've liked all the new doctors up until Capaldi, but angry petty Doctor is just not good.

Luckily Stephan Moffat has been quoted as saying that he knows that Capaldi’s Doctor was too intense and that he intends to lighten him up a bit this season.
 
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DaveSimmons

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Markbnj said:
Yeah I agree that storyline with "PE" was probably the most interesting plotline, and it ended... sort of well. I enjoyed "The Master" as well and got a laugh out of the Mary Poppins scene... but I still don't understand what the hell she was after. It seemed at the end like all she wanted was his attention.
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Without the drumming, all she had left was the Doctor. I think giving the Doctor his own army was a way to make him become more like her -- once he killed a few billion people in the name of justice, her own pile of corpses wouldn't seem so bad.
 
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