Which Who Stories Have you seen lately?

Pepsi Maxil wrote:I would watch it with you but you're probably smart enough not to let a pervert like me anywhere near your house.

Well after quite enjoying City of Death, and even thinking Creature From the Pit wasn't that bad, I had relatively high hopes for the rest of the season, but after struggling through Nightmare of Eden, it all came crashing down with this one.
It's just too farcical for words. Pure panto. The only saving grace is the Nimon themselves which are pretty good, (platform boots notwithstanding)
I'd still rather watch this than NuWho though. It might be a bit cringey, but at least it's not pretentious.
Comparing to the rest of the season I'll give 4.5/10 for at least being mildly more entertaining than Nightmare of Eden, if you're in the right sort of mood. Which after watching 2 of the worst eps of NuWho, definitely makes for a more forgiving one.

Next up: Night Terrors, then Shada animated on dvd.
Probably next week, as I'm back at for the next few nights.

Night Terrors

A bit meh really.
Admittedly not nearly as dreadful as the previous 2 episodes of S6, but pretty dull and unconvincing overall.
It starts quite well and actually manages to create some atmosphere, but after about 20 minutes I was wishing it would actually get somewhere, and then after dragging on for 25 minutes it rushes the ending.
The performances weren't too bad. Daniel Mays was very good; I'm tempted to say that he should've been given a more prominent role. Somehow, I can picture him as The Master; but then again the NuWho team would no doubt write him in such an appalling way, he'd end up tainted by it, so probably just as well.
But yeah, this episode... could be a lot worse, but could be so much better. 5/10.

"The Beast Below". So well-written characters of Eleventh Doctor and Amy...

Ludders wrote:A Good Man Goes to War

I couldn't really remember this one, but having watched it again I realise what a blessing that was.
What an utter bag of pure, unadulterated wank.
I'll never rewatch this again.
0/10

"Good for you, mate!"

It's fucking rubbish isn't it?
Moffat's writing is just scatty, hyperactive, smoke and mirrors bullshit. And he thinks people can't see it. And if they do, then they don't get it.
Fuck off Moffat. I see you.

Anyway I watched Shada on dvd, with the animation filling in the gaps.
I haven't had a go at this story since the the VHS release, which I found difficult to get into with Tom just filling in the gaps.
I was fully expecting not to like it that much, but was pleasantly surprised. It's actually a pretty good story which is much easier to appreciate now that it's presented properly.
Admittedly, this is not TOP notch Who for me, but streets ahead of Nimon and Eden, and is on a par with City of Death sort of quality. It's a little bit overlong at 6 episodes, which brings the score down a bit, but it's definitely worth a 7.5/10.

Next up for me is The Girl Who Waited, which I actually quite liked at the time, so it will be interesting to see if a second viewing changes that view, after being a bit disappointed with a rewatch of Time of the Angels.
Then it's onto classic Who S18.

Ludders wrote:Next up for me is The Girl Who Waited, which I actually quite liked at the time, so it will be interesting to see if a second viewing changes that view, after being a bit disappointed with a rewatch of Time of the Angels.
Then it's onto classic Who S18.

Well I have to admit that for the most part, this episode still stood up well on a second viewing.
Yes. they still over-egg the pudding a bit on the emotionalism at the end, but by NuWho standards it could've been a lot worse.
I still find Rory a rather corny, cliched character, and generally I'm really not a fan of the soap element that Amy and Rory bring to the episodes, but in this episode it all works reasonably well.
I liked the more sedate pace and the 'talkiness' being more central than the usual manic 'action' episodes, and I thought Karen Gillan put in a fine  performance as 'old' Amy. Meanwhile, it was a good reminder from Matt Smith as to he's the best NuWho Doctor. When he's not being written by Moffat, and being turned into Tennant II, he's a credible Doctor.
This may be an emotion led story, but it was largely handled well, apart from the above caveat, and Gold's usual complete absence of subtlety. So.....  not perfect, but compared to the Moffat's terrible writing, this is good quality stuff. Easily the best of the season.

8/10

The God Complex

I wasn't particularly impressed with this one back when it aired, and a rewatch hasn't done much change my mind. Not the worst ever, but definitely falls into the 'dull' camp for me. The performances and overall tone aren't too bad, but it's another theme that feels like you've seen it all before.
Then there's the ever present shit dialogue:

"They're not doors, they're walls. Walls that look like doors. Door walls if you like walls, or dwalls... woors even... although you probably got it when you said they're not doors.

Things - Hellooooo! WhatkindofthingsInterestingthingsIlovethingsAskanyone."

Then there's some unintelligible guff about a bus ride, a taxi, and a walk away from good.
Credit given for a fairly low key farewell to Amy and Rory. Or at least by NuWho standards anyway.

A few good points then, but frankly not enough to cut through the general boredom.

4/10

Next up: 'The Leisure Hive', but it will have to wait until next week.

Currently watching the Series 26 boxset that I purchased recently. Just finishing up on Ghost Light.

Closing Time

Shite.
Added to the list of NuWho pish that I'll never watch again.
Nothing more to say. Not worth wasting time on.


The Leisure Hive

Like S17, it's been a long time since I watched S18 as well, so I'm quite curious to watch this season after over a decade.
I still have mixed feelings about this story. I started out quite enthusiastic, but over the course of the 4 episodes my interest was flagging by the end.
I found the incidental music quite refreshing, and the performances were solid; although Tom seems a bit on the flat side. It's mainly that the story itself was a bit weak, and difficult to sustain interest.
On the one had, it's good that the OTT silliness of much of S17 has gone. But somehow they lost a bit of the energy and zest, and there's a kind of mundane edge to this story that is hard to account for.
JNT says in 'New Beginnings' feature the move to curb the comedy excesses of the Williams/Adams era was a deliberate decision on his part, but did they get the balance right? Perhaps that will be better answered at the end of the season rather than the beginning.
On paper, I should enjoy this move towards more serious Sci-Fi. And yet I struggled with it. Why? Perhaps I'm reading too much into it and it's simply not that great a story. I mean it's not bad by any means... it just lacks the spark that it used to have.

I'll be generous and give it 6/10, because I feel the effort is there but they just haven't quite nailed that winning formula.

It's boring as fuck, that's the problem.

Yeah, I'm probably trying too hard to like it.    

Meanwhile I finally finished NuWho S6.

The Wedding of River Song

Yawn. The usual self-indulgent Moffat pish. Sentimental tripe wrapped up in 'ooh aren't I clever'. No you're not, Steven, you're a tit. And a transparent one at that.
Seriously, it's a real shame for Matt Smith. It's a testament to him that in many ways he does really well with the awful quality of the material given to him. If Tennant was still doing NuWho at this time, this shite would be even worse.
I'll give Matt a point for at least still managing to wring an ounce of credibility out of this crap.

1/10


The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe

Meh.... yeah it's another Christmas special.... yawn.
As above, a point for Smith. Otherwise don't bother.

1/10


Meglos

If I thought The Leisure Hive wasn't up to that much, this is even more on the dull side. Tom manages to convey a little bit more spark to his performance, but he's still only a few steps away from going through the motions. I really do get the vibe that this was one season too many for Tom.
It's not a terrible story, but it really is very average stuff, despite the best efforts of a half-decent guest cast, including of course Jackie Hill. And fair credit to Lalla Ward who so far this season comes across more invested in it than Tom.
Previously in my mind I had this down as a 3/10 story, but I think I'd now upgrade it to a 5/10.

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

Thinking back to when finally gave up watching NuWho, this was a massive part of why. This is just utter farce. Smith is Tennant-lite, and the childish dialogue makes Disney look grown up.
A second viewing has done nothing to change my views on this. It's pure, unadulterated shite from start to finish. Another one that I'll never bother watching again.

0/10.


A Town Called Mercy

I managed one more episode before giving in, and this was it. It may not be as bad as the previous episode, but it was so mind-numbingly boring that I couldn't stand it anymore.
It's still fucking utterly boring. So predictable and tedious that I could barely keep my mind on watching it.

0/10. Off to Room 101 with it.


Full Circle

I used to think this one was a bit dull, but after the NuWho shite it seems positively brilliant.
But seriously, it is rather slow to get going, but it's the best one of S18 so far.
George Baker is good, and it's nice to see James Bree. Also, Tom seems must more invested in this story than the first couple. He's like his old self-again. Lalla is good, but it's just a shame about Adric, the appearance of whom puts a bit of a downer on things.
All in all, not great, but not bad.

6.5/10

You had to skip Asylum then?

I have to say I always found Town Called Mercy very confused, pretentious and overrated. I never got why it was so praised.

I've been skipping all the Dalek stories, as I'm planning a Dalek marathon at some stage, from beginning to end.

Tanmann wrote:You had to skip Asylum then?  

I have to say I always found Town Called Mercy very confused, pretentious and overrated. I never got why it was so praised.

Me neither. It's boring as fuck too, and Amy and Rory - characters who usually keep me awake - have so little to do in it they may as well not even be there.

Indeed. It's a very joyless story. Takes itself far too seriously.

I liked the Ponds, but it was beginning to feel they were outstaying their welcome after Asylum, or at least like the writers had run out of ways to use them well anymore.

Tanmann wrote:I liked the Ponds, but it was beginning to feel they were outstaying their welcome after Asylum, or at least like the writers had run out of ways to use them well anymore.

I absolutely hate the latter-day Moffat trope of ungrateful, part-time companions who choose to stay on Earth and work underpaid 9-to-5 jobs rather than travel with the Doctor on a permanent basis. It began with the Ponds in Series 7, but got much more obnoxious with Clara in the Capaldi era. In addition to being completely implausible, it stripped the show of any sense of adventure, and reveals how badly Moffat had fallen out of love with the show by his third series.

ClockworkOcean wrote:

Tanmann wrote:I liked the Ponds, but it was beginning to feel they were outstaying their welcome after Asylum, or at least like the writers had run out of ways to use them well anymore.

I absolutely hate the latter-day Moffat trope of ungrateful, part-time companions who choose to stay on Earth and work underpaid 9-to-5 jobs rather than travel with the Doctor on a permanent basis. It began with the Ponds in Series 7, but got much more obnoxious with Clara in the Capaldi era. It completely stripped the show of any sense of adventure, and reveals how badly Moffat had fallen out of love with the show after Series 6.

Ironically, for a brief time when Clara was with Matt Smith, I thought she'd proven to be a breath of fresh air and a return to the adventure without that soap nonsense, which I could almost dare hope had been said goodbye to with the Ponds.

But it wasn't to be.

The moment Moffat decided to give her a teaching job at Coal Hill School, it was going to be back to the workplace and the soap.

The Power of Three

Jeez, can an episode actually get more boring? No wonder I stopped watching this trivial shit.....

0/10

The Angels Take Manhattan

By Moffat standards that was relatively palatable. I was so over the Pond soap by now, I was relieved to see them go. Shame in some respects that Amy had to tangled up in all that crap, because she wasn't a bad companion under her own steam. By NuWho standards anyway. Still, at least the send-off wasn't overdone to the hideous degrees of 'Doomsday'. That too was something of a relief.
I'll give this one 6/10.

State of Decay

Now this is much more like it.
A great story that manages to recreate some of the atmosphere of the Hinchcliffe era, which makes sense given that it was originally the handover story that was ultimately replaced by Horror of Fang Rock.
Tom is in great form here, especially after the first two lacklustre stories of the season. My only real gripe, apart from the presence of Adric, is Kingsland's ultra-bland music. It just doesn't fit with the atmosphere of the story. It sounds like he's written something very generic that could be used in any story. There's no sense of menace to it whatsoever.
Otherwise, this is leaps and bounds ahead of anything in the last 2 or 3 seasons, and would definitely make it into my Top 3 stories from the '80s.

8.5/10

The Snowmen

Started off with low expectations as it's a Christmas Special....
Switched it off as soon as Strax and the Victorian Titlurian turned up. I'm not watching that shite......
Get's an honorary Barrowman. 0/10


The Bells of Saint John

Started off quite intriguing, even potentially good. But gradually got more annoying as it went on.
Making it about The Great Intelligence is merely lip service to something much better done by proper Who.
Not the worst, but could've been half decent were it not for the usual silly NuWho baggage. 4/10.


Warrior's Gate

It's never been a favourite, and I tried really hard to get more out of it this time, but by Episode 3 I was frankly bored shitless.
Gets a point for its genuine Sci-Fi concepts, even if the story doesn't work for me. Another point for simply not being NuWho, and another point for Lalla's two points.  
3/10

The Rings of Akhaten

Utterly boring, unremarkable story, with Smith in  Tennant-lite mode.

0/10


Cold War

An improvement f'sure. Looked pretty promising for a while, but didn't amount to much in the end.
The Ice Warrior (in armour) looked good though.
Gatiss has a better idea of how to get closest to the atmosphere of Classic Who, but his scripts often don't follow through.

5/10

Hide

On paper I should've liked this one, but ultimately it failed to grab me. Another one that doesn't live up to its potential, even when it has a good idea.

3/10



Keeper of Traken

Definitely one of the better stories of S18. Admittedly a bit slow to get going, but a good outing overall. Good performance again from Tom, and Geoffrey Beavers makes a good Master in following on from The Deadly Assassin version of the character.
Good guest performances and atmosphere. I've never been keen on Ainley's Master, (more on that later) but he was good as Tremas, and nice to see John Woodnutt in Who again.

7/10

Ludders wrote:The Rings of Akhaten

Utterly boring, unremarkable story, with Smith in  Tennant-lite mode.

0/10


Cold War

An improvement f'sure. Looked pretty promising for a while, but didn't amount to much in the end.
The Ice Warrior (in armour) looked good though.
Gatiss has a better idea of how to get closest to the atmosphere of Classic Who, but his scripts often don't follow through.

5/10

Hide

On paper I should've liked this one, but ultimately it failed to grab me. Another one that doesn't live up to its potential, even when it has a good idea.

3/10



Keeper of Traken

Definitely one of the better stories of S18. Admittedly a bit slow to get going, but a good outing overall. Good performance again from Tom, and Geoffrey Beavers makes a good Master in following on from The Deadly Assassin version of the character.
Good guest performances and atmosphere. I've never been keen on Ainley's Master, (more on that later) but he was good as Tremas, and nice to see John Woodnutt in Who again.

7/10

I’ve not watched series 7 in a long time, but from what I recall, Hide is especially hindered by the insertions of awkward comedic jabs at inappropriate moments as well as a thoroughly disappointing conclusion where the “power of love” ending takes precedence over the more tantalising horror based alternatives. That’s another trait that series 7 possesses that frustrates me so much- it’s the season where that “power of love” ending is consistently abused with little to no genuine drama or consequences for our central characters.

And yes- Smith’s Doctor is especially irritating in series 7 generally speaking. As crap as series 6 may be overall, there were at least a fair share of moments where he genuinely shone in the role, but here he’s been diluted of any subtlety. A shame given that Moffat’s Doctors were easily superior to that of RTD’s in terms of core characterisation.

Look forward to Logopolis- I know how much you loathe that one.

I think I'm the only one here who likes Rings of Akhaten.

iank wrote:

Tanmann wrote:You had to skip Asylum then?  

I have to say I always found Town Called Mercy very confused, pretentious and overrated. I never got why it was so praised.

Me neither. It's boring as fuck too, and Amy and Rory - characters who usually keep me awake - have so little to do in it they may as well not even be there.

Sorry not to get off topic, but you've changed your profile pic? WHAT!

You've always had the old woman shooting someone! I can't get used to this one.