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DJ-1701

By DJ-1701
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TechMonkey

TechMonkey

Posted
Posted

"Eat my salad" is now my favourite attack line on a alien being.

 

Thought it was good, treaded the line of quirky and silliness nicely, set up the companions well and didn't feel too much like a first episode. Reminded me a bit of the Matt Smith first episode, without the stirring speech.

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ICTDirect_Dave

ICTDirect_Dave

Posted
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I really loved the episode. Great story (if a little easy to predict), characters were well-written, the baddie was suitably intimidating at first and the new filming style looked superb.

It was also lovely to see Sheffield get some screen time.

 

I did not particularly like the new theme tune however. When will they stop making new ones and simply use the Orbital version?

 

E_G_R2

E_G_R2

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Quite a bit of David Tennant in there but thought it was good, first episodes are always a bit hit of miss but it was a hit for me. Love the making of the new sonic and its Sheffield roots. My granddad was a master cuttler when all good spoons came from the steel city.
Garacesh

Garacesh

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I quite enjoyed it. There were the usual "I'm not quite sure about this" moments but I've been through enough new Doctors by now to know that it's just because it's different rather than because it's bad.

Jodie's Doctor gives me a bit of a quirky Matt Smith vibe, but not too much for it to feel like she's just a re-skin without bringing anything new.

 

I'm going to disagree with @witch though, I think the funeral setup was a nice touch. It felt real, like it genuinely had emotion behind it, Bradley Walsh absolutely nailed it, and I think it was a great way to show that it's not all going to be quirky fun and games. Of course most of us existing fans know that already but I don't doubt there's been a large influx of new viewers thanks to Jodie (partly because she's a woman and everyone's done the whole feminism angle, and partly because apparently she was very well liked in Broadchurch). Overall I think the inclusion of a few deaths and one sombre scene mixed in with mostly wacky antics and high-stakes, and just a dash of the Doctor ingenuity and McGuyvering we all know and love set the episode up as a great "This is what Doctor Who is about" for potential new fans.

 

"Eat my salad" is now my favourite attack line on a alien being.

Indeed. At first I was incredibly confused about that scene.. Why was it even included? It brought nothing to the plot besides showing us that Tim Shaw was willing to kill random civilians who weren't part of his hunt (which we kinda already knew). But looking back I can appreciate it for it for it's humour. What's Doctor Who without a bit of sporadic daftness, 'eh?

 

Overall.. Pleasantly anticipating the rest of the series :)

 

Edit: Oh, and whilst the new outfit strangely works.. Can we talk about how well Jodie was rockin' Capaldi's wrecked suit?

Edited by Garacesh
CAM

CAM

Posted
Posted
I thought the deaths and funeral set the tone well for this series. I am a huge critic of Dr Who recently and I thought this was a pretty good episode. It was very dark and gripping with innocent folks getting killed and mutilated and I felt it pulled no punches. The downside is that plot twist with the DNA bombs, I felt it was the typical sudden out-of-the-blue magic wand solution that happens in Dr Who which makes very little sense compared to the rest of the episode.
LeMarchand

LeMarchand

Posted
Posted
I liked it - it certainly has potential. could have seriously done without the deaths and the funeral though.

 

I was a bit thrown by this, too. That said, Grace may well have just been wearing a red shirt when we met her given the companion/friend publicity. I also didn't understand why The Doctor wasn't more interested about doing something about the people held in stasis or her anger at Karl as Tim Shaw was melting away anyway. Still, minor quibbles in an otherwise enjoyable episode. Looking forward to next week.

6Foot2

6Foot2

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...I also didn't understand why The Doctor wasn't more interested about doing something about the people held in stasis or her anger at Karl as Tim Shaw was melting away anyway....

I thought this was being held over to be dealt with later in the series, even though there is (supposed to be) no threading of stories and each one is individual and standalone.

ICTDirect_Dave

ICTDirect_Dave

Posted
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That said, Grace may well have just been wearing a red shirt when we met her given the companion/friend publicity.

 

I had her pegged for Extermination from the moment she put herself in danger on the train. There was no way someone with her personality would have accepted being left behind and missing out on all those possible adventures

 

I also didn't understand why The Doctor wasn't more interested about doing something about the people held in stasis

I'm assuming that sans-Tardis there was not a whole lot she could do. We may see more of these in a future episode perhaps?

jthompson

jthompson

Posted
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I think the last time I watched an episode of Doctor Who was when Sylvester McCoy was doing it. I don't really remember it in any detail, and haven't watched Doctor Who since, so I went into it cold. I watched it because Jodie Whittaker was quite funny on the Graham Norton Show. My wife is more familiar with the show than me: she really liked it when it was David Tennant and Matt Smith.

 

I thought there was some good comic acting, and I liked the forging/making scenes. The story seemed really underwhelming, though, but I have no idea what 'normal' is like for Doctor Who, so perhaps my expectations aren't yet calibrated. It's nice, however, to not feel bombarded with too much lore, self-referencing or 'grittiness' from such a well established series (looking at you, Sherlock, James Bond, Star Trek).

DalekSec

DalekSec

Posted
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I had her pegged for Extermination from the moment she put herself in danger on the train.

 

 

..... i didn't get there in time, i was stuck on the bus replacement service.

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6Foot2

6Foot2

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All in all it reminded me a bit of old Who, the effects were a bit more shonky and rough but the writing and acting was of better quality.

 

Someone on Twitter:

 

...has Tom Baker come out of retirement?...

:)

pooley

pooley

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Was not WOWED by the episode, but she's got potential and she's not Capaldi so she has that going for her too. Hopefully she's a grower and will develop into the role.
rich_tech

rich_tech

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wasn't bad, wasn't great either I felt, I don't mind either way if the doctor is male or female, Jodie Whittaker seems decent and its going in a different direction that's easy enough to see from that episode, though its only going to be as good as the writing and lately I have felt that its not so great, so I am a bit apprehensive, I liked Capaldi too, but felt that the writing and plots were lacking bigtime for his doctor, that's not improved looking at it for this one so far, plots seem clunky and have been for a while.
sonofsanta

sonofsanta

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I can forgive the slightly anemic It's Predator, Innit plot, given that the job the episode had to do was introduce four new characters--the plot always takes a bit of a backseat in any new Doctor's first outing. I'm with @witch though--there was enough death in the episode to set the tone (they layed it on a bit thick with Grandad at the construction site, didn't they?) and they didn't need to kill Grace off. I'd hoped (fool that I am) that she'd be an anchor at home, like Rose's mum was, but it depends on how they handle the grief going forward--if, in two episodes time, Graham & Ryan have forgotten all about her and are just having lots of fun with the Doctor, I'll be really annoyed, but if they're still processing their grief and working out the shape of their relationship without Grace to tie them together, it could give a lot of depth to the TARDIS family. My favourite series so far has been with Amy & Rory handling how their relationship fit around being in the TARDIS, so it could be good to see something similarly human with those two.

 

I thought Whittaker was halfway between Tennant and Eccleston (gods I love having a Northern doctor again :D), and it doesn't feel like she's settled in yet, but it always feels that way with a new Doctor, so I know to give it time yet :) more excited and curious about what the new writer will bring, though: Capaldi was completely wasted until the final series, when they finally let him act his age. I know Whittaker will be good, it's Chibnall who I'm crossing fingers for!

 

She looked better in Capaldi's old get up than her charity shop ensemble, though. Missed opportunity that.

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LeMarchand

LeMarchand

Posted
Posted
I'd hoped (fool that I am) that she'd be an anchor at home, like Rose's mum was, but it depends on how they handle the grief going forward--if, in two episodes time, Graham & Ryan have forgotten all about her and are just having lots of fun with the Doctor, I'll be really annoyed, but if they're still processing their grief and working out the shape of their relationship without Grace to tie them together, it could give a lot of depth to the TARDIS family.

 

There was no way that someone like Grace was going to keep the home fires burning whilst the men were off having adventures! I hated the "family at home" bits or the RTD era, so hoping we don't get a return to that. Totally agree that it would be a poor show if the guys never seem to need to cope with her loss, though.

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Garacesh

Garacesh

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Posted

Agreed.. I quite liked Rose returning home to mum every now and again, that felt real, but the duality of Clara trying to do TARDIS-stuff and normal-life stuff just felt like there wasn't enough time to focus on either one of them and the plot suffered for it. I think that's what we'd be seeing a return to if Grace had 'stayed home', but then again, does Grace really seem like the kind to stay home whilst 'the lads' go gallivanting off around the universe? I don't reckon so. If she'd have lived, she'd be joining them on the TARDIS, but I think with that many companions it would just get too clunky.

 

I do hope Graham and Ryan can stick around for at least a few more episodes and develop a familial bond from their grief and from their adventures (in a sort of 'living for Grace' kind of way, as was alluded to at the end of the episode). Maybe don't keep them on a permanent basis, but maybe for another 2 or 3.

I think Yasmin would make a good long-term companion though. She's clearly got drive to 'do more', and seemed to handle the weird just as good well as everyone else.

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ICTDirect_Dave

ICTDirect_Dave

Posted
Posted
Totally agree that it would be a poor show if the guys never seem to need to cope with her loss, though.

Can't see them not having a thread that shows them addressing their collective grief to be honest.

 

A massive part of Jodie Whittaker's character in Broadchurch was addressing her grief from the first series.

Chibnall knows to to tell those tales. And, lets not forget that he was effectively the head writer for the first couple of Torchwood series. There were some excellent stories there!

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mavhc

mavhc

Posted
Posted
And, lets not forget that he was effectively the head writer for the first couple of Torchwood series. There were some excellent stories there!

 

Really? That was terrible, only liked S3 and S4

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