Just adding my opinions to everyone elses as I just rewatched POT.
Firstly this story is a delight for all the Amy/ Rory lovers out there. Not really one myself to be honest. I think Amy was always better when it was just her and the Doctor. ( just my opinion though). Although to be fair I think in this story A & R do work and feel really comfortable with each other. I do love the scenes between Brian and Rory too as his expressions or mannerisms are pure gold. Its clever because they physically are similar to each other and play off each other.:)
I dont think anyone has mentioned yet how beautifully shot some of the scenes are. The scenes in the hospital and space ship with the bluey hues and that yellow lift ( god the lift gives me chils as I got stuck in a lift between floors once) remind me of the film Diva directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix. fantastic.
I like the voice-over by Amy ( reminscent of Rose's farewell episode. Wonder if she will 'die' but not really ) and the scenes between her and the doctor talking about their relationship actually do hit the right emotional tone. It feels "true" although it really rare that the Doctor would admit he misses her. My favourite line is that he runs towards things and maybe i will use that line one day too! Stephen Berkoff is quite good too and i wish there would have been more of him.
How lovely that we meet Kate Stewart. Its a nice nod to the past and for the future. I really hope Jemma Redgrave can come back again.Everyone that said that this story felt like an RTD one is right.
So that is all the good stuff. As other people have mentioned there are holes in the plot. The issue with 2 billion people having probably died and then brought back by a wizardy whoosh of the sonic screwdriver. Why were people kidnapped for the ship ?
I know some posters say it doesnt matter as it wasnt thet true thrust of the story but i think it does. There has to be an internal logic to the resolution of any story. It felt like Chris built up a fantastic story about these cubes but couldnt think how to resolve it.Using the sonic screwdriver smacks of lazy thinking.Is there nothing the sonic screwdriveer is unable to do now.
The ending felt rushed and ill thought out Personally I think the perfect place to end the episode was when the automatic system said there would be a second wave and disappeared. Cue another episode to investigate the threat properly and resolve everything in a more satisfactory manner.
I am torn as the episode wasnt average. I wish I could have an option for good with reservations
Those things were unbelivable, alien molecular structure change is amazing, but to be dead for so long and then resurected after all that time is impossible, they would all either be dead or brain damaged, he did nothing else than somehow defrib them with the sonic, they should all still be dead, all 2 billion.
.
With these problems you have it amazes me you managed to get through any of the episodes ever!
It's good that people are finding this episode excellent.it is doctor who and most, if not all episodes should probably be at least good, just because it IS doctor who. I has to vote just 'good'on this occasion. What is getting me at the moment is that so many people were moaning about plot holes on dinosaurs, and marking the episode as bad, when everything in dinosaurs could be explained to a reasonable level just by engaging Your brain for half a second. Yet, now we have an episode with some really major plot flaws that cannot be simply written off, and there are more excellent marks coming in than anything else. I don't get it. Is it a bad thing for stories to make sense these days?
I'd love to be corrected,as I hate leaving things unexplained. Obviously if people think it's excellent just cos they do, regardless of anything making sense or not, then that's up to them, and good on em. I'm curious though to find out from those who voted this episode higher than any of the others this series. why?
Just adding my opinions to everyone elses as I just rewatched POT.
Firstly this story is a delight for all the Amy/ Rory lovers out there. Not really one myself to be honest. I think Amy was always better when it was just her and the Doctor. ( just my opinion though). Although to be fair I think in this story A & R do work and feel really comfortable with each other. I do love the scenes between Brian and Rory too as his expressions or mannerisms are pure gold. Its clever because they physically are similar to each other and play off each other.:)
I dont think anyone has mentioned yet how beautifully shot some of the scenes are. The scenes in the hospital and space ship with the bluey hues and that yellow lift ( god the lift gives me chils as I got stuck in a lift between floors once) remind me of the film Diva directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix. fantastic.
I like the voice-over by Amy ( reminscent of Rose's farewell episode. Wonder if she will 'die' but not really ) and the scenes between her and the doctor talking about their relationship actually do hit the right emotional tone. It feels "true" although it really rare that the Doctor would admit he misses her. My favourite line is that he runs towards things and maybe i will use that line one day too! Stephen Berkoff is quite good too and i wish there would have been more of him.
How lovely that we meet Kate Stewart. Its a nice nod to the past and for the future. I really hope Jemma Redgrave can come back again.Everyone that said that this story felt like an RTD one is right.
So that is all the good stuff. As other people have mentioned there are holes in the plot. The issue with 2 billion people having probably died and then brought back by a wizardy whoosh of the sonic screwdriver. Why were people kidnapped for the ship ?
I know some posters say it doesnt matter as it wasnt thet true thrust of the story but i think it does. There has to be an internal logic to the resolution of any story. It felt like Chris built up a fantastic story about these cubes but couldnt think how to resolve it.Using the sonic screwdriver smacks of lazy thinking.Is there nothing the sonic screwdriveer is unable to do now.
The ending felt rushed and ill thought out Personally I think the perfect place to end the episode was when the automatic system said there would be a second wave and disappeared. Cue another episode to investigate the threat properly and resolve everything in a more satisfactory manner.
I am torn as the episode wasnt average. I wish I could have an option for good with reservations
I agree with this whole post.
Especially your comment that despite the focus of the episode being amy / rory / doctor relationship, they didnt wrap up simple holes. For example, to explain the people on the ship, a line like "we needed a few human subjects for some closer analysis" would have been enough. Even the fact that a ship just happened to be there unmanned with odd-mouthed operatives was not explained. To me it feels a little lazy, like writing an excellnt job application but leaving in silly typos.
Especially your comment that despite the focus of the episode being amy / rory / doctor relationship, they didnt wrap up simple holes. For example, to explain the people on the ship, a line like "we needed a few human subjects for some closer analysis" would have been enough. Even the fact that a ship just happened to be there unmanned with odd-mouthed operatives was not explained. To me it feels a little lazy, like writing an excellnt job application but leaving in silly typos.
Thought it was really good, the best of the series so far.
HOWEVER stupid shoddy resolution. Doc waves his sonic screwdriver at the screen, restarting hearts and brings everyone back to life, after many minutes.
That was just rubbish and extremely lazy. So I would have voted excellent but it will get a good.
was that fish fingers and custard that The Doctor, Amy and Rory were eating?:D I know Yorkshire Pudding was mentioned but I didn't see none
And on the mantlepiece I spotted what looks like an egg box but might be something else and a toy dinosaur:D there is a teddy fellow too.:D (It's in the part where the cubey box was blasting lasers at the Doctor)
The cubes were impervious to temperatures from -200C to 200C? A domestic oven can go over 350C - we can easily get to temperatures in the thousands.
"They all activated simultaneously - they must be getting signals from somewhere - it's the only possible explanation!" The Doctor was wrong there. A lot of attack plans start with "synchronise your watches". With a good enough clock, there's no need for an outside signal.
This and the other plot holes didn't stop me voting "Excellent". I usually do, because I'm comparing the programme with all the other stuff we get on TV nowadays. If the vote was "how did this episode stack up against the rest of the Dr Who canon", I'd have rated it as "Good" - it was certainly (for me) well above average.
What started out a great episode was turned into a complete train wreck by the last 10 minutes of the story. The unresolved questions (Why did the Q-bert guys kidnap people? Why didn't the Doctor try to rescue them or seem care that they died?) weren't just plot holes they were just incredibly lazy writing (or bad editing) as was the sonic screwdriver cop out. Its a shame because some of the elements (The Brigs daughter, changes in UNIT, The Doctors interaction with the Ponds) were superb. The rest of the 'plot' just ruined it all. I voted average just because the Zygons got a mention!
Didn't like this one. Worst of the series by a country mile, pacing was all over the place and the ending and solution was poor. Brian is fab played by the brill Mark Williams such a shame after next week no reason to use him again. Voted average but only because of Brian and next weeks clips.
What started out a great episode was turned into a complete train wreck by the last 10 minutes of the story.
But you still enjoyed most of it, right?
I thought the ending was incredibly poorly thought out and God help us all if Chibnall becomes showrunner, but on the other hand this episode did have something very Classic Who about it - I dunno if it was just the Brigadier's daughter, or little things like Amy actually telling the Doctor what she does for a living, but it was a joy to watch. Until logic crapped all over it.
I found it really poor. Essentially it was Partners in Crime spread out over a year. Very much a throwback to the RTD years - (I'm not criticising RTD, only saying it didn't fit with the tone of the present era) - and just couldn't tell a coherent story. What did work was the Amy/Rory arc, but that could have been pasted onto any story and was resolved far too artificially at he end. There was something tired about the direction/editing - no explanation for the collection of people, who were massacred at the end, the magical sonic screwdriver reversed the polarity of the ..., the antagonist was literally phoned in, and there was just no sense to the slow invasion - it was Dr Who by numbers. It was really a parking episode for next weeks New Yorker, pity they couldn't find a better story to tell.
Me and my friend have had the theory that, every episode this series so far has been set BEFORE Asylum Of The Daleks...using the Pond Life prequel as proof of this, showing him keep popping up at random times. I felt the throwaway line from Amy at the beginning, something like, "Your overalls are where you left them, in the living room" added to the fact that, at the same time, the Doctor pulled a face as if to say, "Am going to sort this" or something...makes me think that this is the last episode of the series set BEFORE Asylum and that next weeks will be the first after it....again, just my take on it
I did wonder that after we knew there was a Henry VIII visit in this episode thinking it might have been the one Rory left his phone charger behind making Mercy after this one.
However I doubt it is the case as that would mean Amy gets a job as a Model when she is in her 30's which even for DW is impossible
Voted Good for all the character interactions and stuff but as others said it all fell apart during the last few minutes.
it did seem a little rushed, a couple of extra minutes could have made all the difference.
I wouldn't use the word rushed on a time travelling show.
It just seemed like there were things left unexplained and not thought about, which we're not used to because Moffat likes us to pay attention and seems to do everything for a reason. The Daleks acquired Amy and Rory in Asylum of the Daleks because "the Doctor requires companions". Shakri chose Rory's hospital of all places as his Earth portal because...oh what a crazy coincidence!
Just adding my opinions to everyone elses as I just rewatched POT.
Firstly this story is a delight for all the Amy/ Rory lovers out there. Not really one myself to be honest. I think Amy was always better when it was just her and the Doctor. ( just my opinion though). Although to be fair I think in this story A & R do work and feel really comfortable with each other. I do love the scenes between Brian and Rory too as his expressions or mannerisms are pure gold. Its clever because they physically are similar to each other and play off each other.:)
I dont think anyone has mentioned yet how beautifully shot some of the scenes are. The scenes in the hospital and space ship with the bluey hues and that yellow lift ( god the lift gives me chils as I got stuck in a lift between floors once) remind me of the film Diva directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix. fantastic.
I like the voice-over by Amy ( reminscent of Rose's farewell episode. Wonder if she will 'die' but not really ) and the scenes between her and the doctor talking about their relationship actually do hit the right emotional tone. It feels "true" although it really rare that the Doctor would admit he misses her. My favourite line is that he runs towards things and maybe i will use that line one day too! Stephen Berkoff is quite good too and i wish there would have been more of him.
How lovely that we meet Kate Stewart. Its a nice nod to the past and for the future. I really hope Jemma Redgrave can come back again.Everyone that said that this story felt like an RTD one is right.
So that is all the good stuff. As other people have mentioned there are holes in the plot. The issue with 2 billion people having probably died and then brought back by a wizardy whoosh of the sonic screwdriver. Why were people kidnapped for the ship ?
I know some posters say it doesnt matter as it wasnt thet true thrust of the story but i think it does. There has to be an internal logic to the resolution of any story. It felt like Chris built up a fantastic story about these cubes but couldnt think how to resolve it.Using the sonic screwdriver smacks of lazy thinking.Is there nothing the sonic screwdriveer is unable to do now.
The ending felt rushed and ill thought out Personally I think the perfect place to end the episode was when the automatic system said there would be a second wave and disappeared. Cue another episode to investigate the threat properly and resolve everything in a more satisfactory manner.
I am torn as the episode wasnt average. I wish I could have an option for good with reservations
"Good with reservations" is pretty much how I feel. The plot resolution was too easy, too quick for me and had more loose ends and holes than you could drive a bus through in it. I've chronicled a few of those in my episode review (link below), but here's a thought for starters: if one-third of the world suddenly suffered cardiac arrest, what happens to planes (assuming they're not all on auto-pilot), car drivers etc? It wouldn't just be heart attacks that people were dying from, but car crashes, fatal falls down flights of stairs and a whole host of other things. (Honestly, did nobody read/see FlashForward?!?)
Comments
Firstly this story is a delight for all the Amy/ Rory lovers out there. Not really one myself to be honest. I think Amy was always better when it was just her and the Doctor. ( just my opinion though). Although to be fair I think in this story A & R do work and feel really comfortable with each other. I do love the scenes between Brian and Rory too as his expressions or mannerisms are pure gold. Its clever because they physically are similar to each other and play off each other.:)
I dont think anyone has mentioned yet how beautifully shot some of the scenes are. The scenes in the hospital and space ship with the bluey hues and that yellow lift ( god the lift gives me chils as I got stuck in a lift between floors once) remind me of the film Diva directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix. fantastic.
I like the voice-over by Amy ( reminscent of Rose's farewell episode. Wonder if she will 'die' but not really ) and the scenes between her and the doctor talking about their relationship actually do hit the right emotional tone. It feels "true" although it really rare that the Doctor would admit he misses her. My favourite line is that he runs towards things and maybe i will use that line one day too! Stephen Berkoff is quite good too and i wish there would have been more of him.
How lovely that we meet Kate Stewart. Its a nice nod to the past and for the future. I really hope Jemma Redgrave can come back again.Everyone that said that this story felt like an RTD one is right.
So that is all the good stuff. As other people have mentioned there are holes in the plot. The issue with 2 billion people having probably died and then brought back by a wizardy whoosh of the sonic screwdriver. Why were people kidnapped for the ship ?
I know some posters say it doesnt matter as it wasnt thet true thrust of the story but i think it does. There has to be an internal logic to the resolution of any story. It felt like Chris built up a fantastic story about these cubes but couldnt think how to resolve it.Using the sonic screwdriver smacks of lazy thinking.Is there nothing the sonic screwdriveer is unable to do now.
The ending felt rushed and ill thought out Personally I think the perfect place to end the episode was when the automatic system said there would be a second wave and disappeared. Cue another episode to investigate the threat properly and resolve everything in a more satisfactory manner.
I am torn as the episode wasnt average. I wish I could have an option for good with reservations
With these problems you have it amazes me you managed to get through any of the episodes ever!
I'd love to be corrected,as I hate leaving things unexplained. Obviously if people think it's excellent just cos they do, regardless of anything making sense or not, then that's up to them, and good on em. I'm curious though to find out from those who voted this episode higher than any of the others this series. why?
I agree with this whole post.
Especially your comment that despite the focus of the episode being amy / rory / doctor relationship, they didnt wrap up simple holes. For example, to explain the people on the ship, a line like "we needed a few human subjects for some closer analysis" would have been enough. Even the fact that a ship just happened to be there unmanned with odd-mouthed operatives was not explained. To me it feels a little lazy, like writing an excellnt job application but leaving in silly typos.
+1 amen to that.
Thought it was really good, the best of the series so far.
HOWEVER stupid shoddy resolution. Doc waves his sonic screwdriver at the screen, restarting hearts and brings everyone back to life, after many minutes.
That was just rubbish and extremely lazy. So I would have voted excellent but it will get a good.
And on the mantlepiece I spotted what looks like an egg box but might be something else and a toy dinosaur:D there is a teddy fellow too.:D (It's in the part where the cubey box was blasting lasers at the Doctor)
But this series is gorgeous, such a joy to watch in HD, a work of art.
The BBC has been an absolute treasure trove this year.
Lol, don't you just hate it when some of your forks run away.
The cubes were impervious to temperatures from -200C to 200C? A domestic oven can go over 350C - we can easily get to temperatures in the thousands.
"They all activated simultaneously - they must be getting signals from somewhere - it's the only possible explanation!" The Doctor was wrong there. A lot of attack plans start with "synchronise your watches". With a good enough clock, there's no need for an outside signal.
This and the other plot holes didn't stop me voting "Excellent". I usually do, because I'm comparing the programme with all the other stuff we get on TV nowadays. If the vote was "how did this episode stack up against the rest of the Dr Who canon", I'd have rated it as "Good" - it was certainly (for me) well above average.
It wasn't a very balanced episode.
But you still enjoyed most of it, right?
I thought the ending was incredibly poorly thought out and God help us all if Chibnall becomes showrunner, but on the other hand this episode did have something very Classic Who about it - I dunno if it was just the Brigadier's daughter, or little things like Amy actually telling the Doctor what she does for a living, but it was a joy to watch. Until logic crapped all over it.
It still must be about 2016 or 2017 though.
I did wonder that after we knew there was a Henry VIII visit in this episode thinking it might have been the one Rory left his phone charger behind making Mercy after this one.
However I doubt it is the case as that would mean Amy gets a job as a Model when she is in her 30's which even for DW is impossible
Voted Good for all the character interactions and stuff but as others said it all fell apart during the last few minutes.
I wouldn't use the word rushed on a time travelling show.
It just seemed like there were things left unexplained and not thought about, which we're not used to because Moffat likes us to pay attention and seems to do everything for a reason. The Daleks acquired Amy and Rory in Asylum of the Daleks because "the Doctor requires companions". Shakri chose Rory's hospital of all places as his Earth portal because...oh what a crazy coincidence!
"Good with reservations" is pretty much how I feel. The plot resolution was too easy, too quick for me and had more loose ends and holes than you could drive a bus through in it. I've chronicled a few of those in my episode review (link below), but here's a thought for starters: if one-third of the world suddenly suffered cardiac arrest, what happens to planes (assuming they're not all on auto-pilot), car drivers etc? It wouldn't just be heart attacks that people were dying from, but car crashes, fatal falls down flights of stairs and a whole host of other things. (Honestly, did nobody read/see FlashForward?!?)
http://slouchingtowardsthatcham.com/2012/09/23/doctor-who-season-7-episode-4-review-the-power-of-three/