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Russell · October 23, 2015 3:58 am

Interesting theory. All side-eye at the 'hybrid' line thrown in, now!

And…. what? You haven't seen The Waters of Mars/much NuWho? Must be weird, jumping into new ones like that!

ukaunz · October 23, 2015 5:13 am

Well, I had watched a few random episodes as they were being repeated on tv this year, but without paying much attention. Then I got enthusiastic about the show and decided to watch all the NuWho eps in order from the start (on DVD or online), but I've also been watching series 8/9 as they're being shown on tv. So far I've watched all of s1, s2 and just finished s3. I gather The Waters of Mars is a special after s4? I guess it's a bit weird to be watching s9 without seeing all the previous eps, but eventually I'll understand all the story arcs and references. But I think most episodes can be watched by complete newbies and still be entertaining, surely?

Liberty · October 23, 2015 6:32 am

I think the current series can be watched by newbies, definitely. I've usually watched episodes as they aired, but that means I've now forgotten most of them anyway!

I've just recently watched a really old episode from the '70s that scared me as a child, and it was funny seeing it after all these years and keeping in mind that it the Doctor was the same person. I think it's a difficult concept as they all have such different personalities.

Last edited by Liberty (October 23, 2015 8:21 am)

Russell · October 24, 2015 4:39 am

Oh, but of course! The past couple I could see jumping easier into, just was curiously surprised!
(It's Smith's era that's all complicated and story-arc-heavy and hard to randomly jump into certain ones ;P)

besleybean · October 24, 2015 7:24 am

Glad you said that, so it wasn't just me being stupid?
Having said that, Matt remains my favourite.

Liberty · October 24, 2015 7:50 am

It's not just you! I don't have a great memory and I'm always having to ask my son to remind me about what's happening. I'm not sure I ever completely followed River's story, for instance. I had to go and look it up on a fansite in the end to get it straight. I even find Clara's story confusing.

besleybean · October 24, 2015 7:52 am

Yeah I must admit, Dr Who tends towards the entertainmemnt end of the scale for me, I don't have the credentials to be a full Whovian!

ukaunz · October 24, 2015 8:19 am

I will have to make sure I'm concentrating hard when I watch the 11th Doctor!

I was impressed to find out that here in Australia the new DW episodes are available on iview a mere 50 minutes after they're screen in the UK. Let's hope that the days are long gone, when we had to wait months for new movies and to shows. I suppose I'm lucky that we don't have to wait for things to be dubbed, too.

P.S. If you thought the Before the Flood theme song was rock 'n' roll, check this one out.

Tim Minchin is awesome

Last edited by ukaunz (October 24, 2015 8:47 am)

Russell · October 24, 2015 9:26 pm

Oh, no kidding! I really really liked Smith! But man, did they do a lot of experimenting with his seasons.

And… whoah… that was something else? Had no idea who he was. (what was with the puppets? something to do with it being the 'comedy' proms, a mixture of everything?)

besleybean · October 24, 2015 9:34 pm

I love Tim Minchin!

Liberty · October 24, 2015 9:42 pm

I've seen him on stage - he's fantastic!

(Loved tonight's episode too, by the way!).

besleybean · October 24, 2015 10:00 pm

SPOILER ALERT

(Not much Clara tonight.)

Liberty · October 25, 2015 7:24 am

Spoilers ...

Yes, that was interesting.   We had a Clara-heavy, Doctor-light episode last season (Flatline) which was actually very good. It's nice to balance it out with a Clara-light one. And get us used to her leaving.

It did get me thinking about the Doctor's very strong attachments to companions, which has been alluded to over and over in this series, in relation to Clara. I felt a little put out that he seems to love Clara SO much but hardly seems to mention Amy or any of the others.   But I suppose that Ashildr's experience was meant to be mirroring his, and that he ends up putting the past out of his mind (now I've the song "The Way We Were" stuck in my head: "What's too painful to remember, we simply choose to forget").   And that perhaps he needs those attachments to stay "human" and keep caring.

When Ashildr was made immortal at the end of the last episode, I did think about children: I was really thinking what if she gave the other repair kit to a lover and then wished she'd given it to one of her children. Because otherwise she would see all her children die.   I thought the scene where she grieves for her babies was so sad, but I was kind of surprised that they chose for the children to die as infants, something that woudl have been common then, and not related to her immortality.   (Not that it woudln't be devastating, but that it would be something most mortal women would experience at that time).

I did love the aspect of Me forgetting a lot of her life, forgetting the village and her father, partly because of the painful loss and partly because of being unable to remember so much - how much would we remember of events hundreds of years ago, if we could live that long?   And I liked the idea of her keeping journals to remember (although it didn't look as if she'd managed to have rescued the journals when she escaped from her tomb, from the witch trial, etc., but minor quibble!).   (And now "The Way We Were" had been replaced by the Highlander theme "Who wants to live forever?" ).

I can't believe that every single episode so far has been so good! Does this mean the finale is going to be atrocious?

(Another minor quibble.   I know the horned helmets pushed buttons last time, this time for me it was the assumption that if life expectancy is 35 at birth, there will be no old people!    Obviously, if half the population die in infancy and childhood, then some of the other half have to live way beyond 35 to get that figure!   Of course there would have been people in their 50s (and older) around in those days.   But I suppose that to Me, the numbers were just detail - they all died before her anyway)

Last edited by Liberty (October 25, 2015 7:50 am)

Russell · October 27, 2015 4:38 am

Yeah, all the eps in general have been pretty neat so far! Got some different writers, I know. And maybe just the change in style. The conclusion certainly set to rest some of the mixed uncertainties I brought up about the Doctor's decision. Just minor quibbles, too. (yeah, how did she have so many journals she'd carted around? And I know this is for the sake of tv writing/drama, but was a tad annoying to have a grumpy 'no' every time she asked to travel with, even when talking about it might have averted/alleviated a lot of the plot, and led to the mutual understanding at the end, instead) *shrug*

I get your point about Clara, Liberty. But then, he'd probably focus on talking about the current/most recent one, and not dwell on the others. Hurts too much/it's in past. But I don't know... even though he's known for always running from it, sometimes it's a really nice relief that he's "human" and has them come up in head once in a while, or in conversation, like anyone might say 'oh, this reminds me of so-and-so'. Was actually so happy he actually brought up Jack in that context! Oh my gosh, I'd pay to get even just one of those little mini episodes with Me (we're calling her Me, now?) running into Jack.
But seriously... he couldn't let her join even just a little, to break it up a bit? Then again, Jack got stuck in past once too, and Rory had to go through that (no spoilers, don't worry), and it kinda changed things with Sam, at the end, so... I guess the Doctor just trusts that the two of them won't twist history too much (or maybe they're the cause of it).
Nice sentiments on what immortality really is, though, and what keeps them caring.

Liberty · October 27, 2015 7:50 am

Yes, I loved the Jack reference. And I thought of Rory too! Yes, Me had seemed quite brave and adventurous to start with - she'd have loved travelling for a while, although I imagine she'd have got addicted to it. The episode also got me thinking of the experience of getting really old, which does involve all your contemporaries dying, while you're left trying to adapt to a changing world - you just need to be long-lived rather than immortal to experience that. Which is what they were saying, I suppose.

I'm glad that Me didn't have to make a decision about who to give eternal life to. I didn't like that repair kit floating around! (If she'd used it on one of her dying babies, would the baby have remained a baby for eternity? I wonder if that's why she didn't consider it - also not wanting to curse her children with eternal life). I wouldn't mind seeing Sam Swift again in a later episode. Of course, it has kind of changed the course of time yet again (or has it? Had that always happened?), and yes, I wonder how much those two will influence history (or if they'll just disappear now and never be heard of again).

And I don't know whether to call her Me or Ashildr! I suppose she's Ashildr again now that she's regained her humanity?

Lilythiell · October 27, 2015 1:34 pm

My goodness, I've just watched last week's and Saturday's episode -they were...so much more Doctor centered, so deep (Well they were bound to be, dealing with "immortality" and all that).
Did anybody notice the Amy reference (which basically boils down to "you don't interfere unless you hear a child cry") in The Girld Who Died ? And Ten's ("I can do anything", Twelve in TGWD//"I am Time Lord victorious" in Waters of Mars)? And DoctorDonna ("you've made me a hybrid")?

I wouldn't mind seeing Sam Swift in a later episode either, maybe in a flashback of Ashildr's?

ukaunz · October 28, 2015 3:42 am

Aw, I didn't catch any of those references, I've got so much catching up to do!

I just had a bit of a DW binge this morning, watching three episodes from the fourth series in a row (once you start, it's hard to stop right??). I ended with The Doctor's Daughter, and while it's not a brilliant episode, I quite enjoyed it. I like the in-joke of having the fifth Doctor actor's daughter play the tenth Doctor's daughter, and the fact that the tenth Doctor actor then later married the actress who played his daughter

I've started keeping a list of all the episodes I've seen and those I still have to watch, and then I discovered how many mini-episodes there are. Most of the ones I've found seem to be from the sixth series onwards, but I did miss one called Time Crash which was aired after series 3. Does anyone know if there are any other little extras I've missed from before s4?

Edit: Never mind, I found a list

Last edited by ukaunz (October 28, 2015 4:02 am)

SolarSystem · October 28, 2015 5:09 am

ukaunz wrote:
I just had a bit of a DW binge this morning, watching three episodes from the fourth series in a row (once you start, it's hard to stop right??). I ended with The Doctor's Daughter, and while it's not a brilliant episode, I quite enjoyed it. I like the in-joke of having the fifth Doctor actor's daughter play the tenth Doctor's daughter, and the fact that the tenth Doctor actor then later married the actress who played his daughter

This 'once you start it's hard to stop'-phenomenon only happened for me with the first four series of New Who, I have to admit. And there especially S4 with Donna was like "let's watch another one... and another one... and another one...". Catherine Tate is just so brilliant, it's such a joy to watch her Donna interact with Ten. And no matter how often I've already seen an episode, it's always so much fun to do a rewatch. Well, and sometimes really sad.
I agree with you on Georgia, when I first watched "The Doctor's Daughter" I had no idea who she was. But now of course watching the episode always puts a huge smile on my face.
And a fun fact: I once saw pics from a convention with Peter Davison and Sylvester McCoy doing a panel together. And one fan apparently asked Peter "What is the most unusual present you ever got from a fan?" And someone from the audience shouted "A grandchild!". Sylvester cracked up completely...! And so did Peter, of course.

ukaunz · October 28, 2015 6:45 am

Ha, that's a great story

I wouldn't have known about Georgia Moffett except that a while ago I accidentally found and watched a "special" called The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot and had to google a few things to understand the in-jokes. Plus I also try to look at the tardis wiki page after I watch an episode, to check if I missed any references. I'm becoming such a DW nerd (and loving it)

SolarSystem · October 28, 2015 6:53 am

Becoming a DW nerd is the best thing.