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Do you prefer arc intensive Who seasons or standalone episodes?
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Do you prefer Doctor Who seasons to be very arc focused like Season 6 or a season of stand alone episodes pretty much like the last?
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Bad Wolf and Doctor/Donna are good examples of when I thought it worked. I thought the 'impossible girl' storyline in season 7 almost hit the mark.
The S6 is one I really liked and thought it played out well - it really engaged with me and I like the fact bits of S5's arc ran into that series too. I like things such as the arc bleeding through from one series to another - it makes the show feel connected and flowing in my mind.
An arc like S6 again would be fine by me!
(Mind you, with Moff at the helm, it's more of a story maze than an arc )
I think the problem with series 6 was the first part was arc heavy with the arc done well, but then the second half after Let's Kill Hitler had almost no arc before the arc ended somewhat shabbily in only one episode.
Series 5's arc remains my favourite. It was as close to perfect as Doctor Who has been so far for me.
I think it it fair to say that about S6's second half, but I think I just admired the ambition of that series in what it tried to do - yes, it probably didn't do itself any favours in that second half of the series, but I still like it regardless. An arc like S6's but obviously more balanced out would be my ideal...
I think S5's arc is just as good though, but S6 just pips it for me in what it tried to do and it did grab me straight away...it took a little longer for S5 to do that, but I still did like S5's arc though. Those two series are my favourites of Nu-Who by far.
The series 6 opening two-parter was probably the best story in Doctor Who history with regards to a story arc. It really was fantastic, but unfortunately I was slightly disappointed with the way it panned out over the rest of the series.
I can't say I was disappointed as such with the series and how it panned out as I never like to set expectations high for myself now after doing so with the Stolen Earth/Journey's End situation I set myself up for - a major disappointment in that case.
I still like how S6 ended, it probably just lacked a bit of umpth about it as well as that bit more of consistency in the arc for S6 pt 2. Apart from those minor quibbles, it is still fine by me.
This!
Bad Wolf, subtle, non consuming, concluded, perfect!
Don't get me wrong, I loved the actual episodes in Series 6. The Girl Who Waited and The God Complex are in my opinion Doctor Who at their best, but the arc itself was a bit of a mess IMO.
I think the main problem was the pointless mid-series break. It may have felt a lot better if all 13 episodes had aired one week after the other.
I was thinking more along the lines of the crack and "the pandorica will open" in series 5.
"Bad Wolf" didn't really count as a story arc in my opinion. It was just some weird thing that Rose did to "lead" herself to the point where she absorbed the time vortex. There was very little mystery beyond "why do those words keep coming up every episode"
I agree entirely. Though I can also see why it doesn't really count as an arc. But, yes, give regular viewers a bit of a reward for paying attention but don't bore anyone.
As long as they maintain some kind of balance I'll watch.
For me, Series 3, 5 and 7, all did this rather well Saxon, The Cracks, and The Ponds' Departure/The Impossible Girl. There was the definite feel of an larger story, but still enough stand alone stories to break up the action.
I've no problem with a stronger arc par se but after the frankly risible series 6 arc I would have to take a pass.
Even the Clara arc of series 7 didn't work as well as it could have because as with the series 6 arc it was, for me at least, at the complete cost of the character/s. I found the 'not quite what they seem' from the off arcs fell flat and were uninspiring as opposed to actually establishing a character first and THEN chuck in a few twists..'oh this character we have known and care about isn't all they are cracked up to be, much like Donna's arc.
For me the Amy Pond/River Song/Baby arc swung too far at the cost of the characters. It became the arc and nothing else, no balance.
I'm tired of being told before a series airs that the companion will have a mystery around them rather than finding it out for myself.
So in all I would have to go for the subtle arcs because the Moffat heavy arcs have been absolutely abysmal, shockingly so imo.
This.
See, I really think the break was necessary for S6....airing that all in one go would have felt a bit much to me anyway....especially from the end of A Good Man Goes to War to the beginning of Let's Kill Hitler....that airing one week after another just wouldn't have been right in my mind. It needed that gap if you ask me.
To me, the split for S6 was the perfect way to do it. Spreading it out across the year was far better than it being just another year of April-June broadcasts. Things had to change in my mind, five full series of the same broadcast pattern just becomes safe and predictable, it just becomes something that is just there in my opinon and becomes part of the furniture in that respect...S6 shook that up nicely in my mind.
As a side point, I really think the more subtle arcs are my least favourite as things like "Bad Wolf" and "Torchwood" being said in S1 & S2 doesn't fulfill an arc to me. An arc has to be at the forefront to me, it just has to.
Yes, I think that was a very good example of when an arc works well.
I think in season 5 and season 6 the arcs were too heavy and distracted from the individual stories. I was so busy waiting for each arc to be resolved that I found myself wishing the season away to get to the pay-off at the end.
It was much better in season 7, but episodes like 'Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS' still made it less successful for me.
I think one thing the show got really right, when it first came back in 2005, is to make pretty much each episode accessible within itself. I think we've lost that over the past few years which probably fed into all of those complaints that the show was becoming too complicated. I don't think it was complicated (personally) but less accessible.
As for series 6, I really enjoyed almost all the arc episodes and for me it was the standalones that weren't up to scratch most of the time (Black Spot, Doctor's Wife, Night Terrors, Closing Time). The opening two-parter is one of my favourite Who stories and I loved the way the arc culminated.
As far as I'm concerned, the main problem with Moffat's arcs has been that there are still too many unanswered questions, or unsatisfactorily answered questions, such as the exploding TARDIS or Silence will Fall.
In any case, I've also loved series 7 and the way the arc played out in that, so I guess it mainly depends on the story quality.
The die is cast unfortunately, there will always be enormous hype over a story arc now; is there isn't there, is this it, is that it, what does this mean, was what he said a clue etc etc! We are our own worst enemies really!
Personally I dont mind, if its done well you can have a standalone with nods to the wider story arc....