Did you see the new Who ?

[jwyblejr]

What did everyone think of tonight's?

[Bruce Banner]

My on-demand cable also had a 3 minute prelude that was cute lead into the monk situation. Probably online somewhere.

[Nostalgiabuff]

I enjoyed it. Matt Smith is great in the role. Clra is really cute and the story arc for her is interesting so far. there were a lot of fun elements thrown into the episode too. loved the motorcycle bit

[jds1911a1]

>Once completed, this precedure cannot be reversed. That is the solid theory of this story.

It CAN be reversed, but you've got to purge the entire system to do it. You can't just do one person. It's one of them weird bits that I've found pop up on the newer show.... it makes sense, but you've got to step back and think it through a little. (In this case it's a tamper proof feature; kinda like tape protection. Only nobody does tapes any more and I don't know the technical term for the digital equivalent.) You can't pick a select file out of the system, but if you shut the whole thing down it loses integrity and releases all the stored energy. Kinda like the Ghostbusters' containment unit. If the body isn't dead the "soul" returns by homing in/being attracted to the sympathetic morphic field.

The real problem I find with the weird bits like this is that they don't prime you for them so good during the episode. (Like this one; they sort of explained the living thing/morphic field idea WAY back on Dr Who, and during the last Torchwood. But if you haven't seen those, you don't know the whole of life on Earth is like a circuit, and you don't get how a setup like the internets eating people works.)

I really liked this one. It was nice seeing someone get the better of the Doctor. The one thing I'm wondering about: we've seen the Doctor fight a lot of great intelligences, and I seem to recall from aways back on the old show THE Great Intelligence. Was this one that one? It knew who UNIT was, and was expecting the Doctor.

Don C.

Yes this is the great intelligence that controlled the robot Yeti and fought the 2nd Doctor in the London sewers (there was a throwback to this in the Christmas episode that the key to victory was the londn underground) which of course anyone under 50 has never seen (of the 2 stories only a handful exist on the lost years dvd) so most of us only know the stories from the target novelizations (or if you are obsessive like me lost stories audios and photostill recons)
I am interested to see where they take the story but I do hope they have the yeti at some poits

[pmwasson]

I enjoyed the episode. My on-demand cable also had a 3 minute prelude that was cute lead into the monk situation. Probably online somewhere.

[palitoy]

For a second I thought they were bringing back the Meddling Monk.

I'm inclined to think that was a morsel for old school fans.

[ctc]

>I didn't like the beginning.

For a second I thought they were bringing back the Meddling Monk.

Don C.

[Godzilla]

I agree, I enjoyed it. Good stuff all around and it was fun to see a companion say "come back tomorrow" instead of just jumping in the Tardis.

[jwyblejr]

I didn't like the beginning. I'm like "Again?" How many times do they have to do that? Rest of it was fine.

[Gorn Captain]

Well, I wasn't all that fond of RTD's magical solutions either.
This is Science Fiction, not Harry Potter.
Ah, well, on to the next one!

[palitoy]

This is the great intelligence, if you recall from the Christmas Special the doctor accidently gives it a plan to London underground.

After years of rtd and his magical "easy buttons", nobody should complain about deus ex machinations these days. I found the resolution pretty straight forward and logical.

[ctc]

>Once completed, this precedure cannot be reversed. That is the solid theory of this story.

It CAN be reversed, but you've got to purge the entire system to do it. You can't just do one person. It's one of them weird bits that I've found pop up on the newer show.... it makes sense, but you've got to step back and think it through a little. (In this case it's a tamper proof feature; kinda like tape protection. Only nobody does tapes any more and I don't know the technical term for the digital equivalent.) You can't pick a select file out of the system, but if you shut the whole thing down it loses integrity and releases all the stored energy. Kinda like the Ghostbusters' containment unit. If the body isn't dead the "soul" returns by homing in/being attracted to the sympathetic morphic field.

The real problem I find with the weird bits like this is that they don't prime you for them so good during the episode. (Like this one; they sort of explained the living thing/morphic field idea WAY back on Dr Who, and during the last Torchwood. But if you haven't seen those, you don't know the whole of life on Earth is like a circuit, and you don't get how a setup like the internets eating people works.)

I really liked this one. It was nice seeing someone get the better of the Doctor. The one thing I'm wondering about: we've seen the Doctor fight a lot of great intelligences, and I seem to recall from aways back on the old show THE Great Intelligence. Was this one that one? It knew who UNIT was, and was expecting the Doctor.

Don C.

[Gorn Captain]

I'm with Mike, here.
I really like Matt Smith, love the new outfit and the Tardis is fantastic.
There were some great ideas in there, like the Tardis garage, the antigrav bike, lots of fun.

But for me, the problem is, again, Moffat.
The story in itself is not really that great, I don't think anyone will be waiting for the DVD to come out of that one. There's a lot of running, shouting and loud music, but not a lot of meat on the bone where the story is concerned. Moffat seems to think that making it hard to follow equals great writing, but that's not the case.
An example.
They kinda download people into the system, right?
Once completed, this precedure cannot be reversed. That is the solid theory of this story.
But near the end, Moffat finds out he's written himself into a corner. What now?
His standard solution is the Magical Deus Ex Machina. He goes against his own concept, and states "if you just push this one button, it's all magically restored. Click your heels three times, and you're back home!
He's done this many times before (like when the Doctor disappeared from this reality, and Rory and Amy "wished" him back into existence).
That's not good writing, that's "reversing the polarity", hoping the audience won't have time to say "that doesn't make sense". You cannot change the rules of the game (or the story) halfway through, because you need an easy escape route.
Within a minute or two, it went from "they can never be returned" to "just push that, and presto!".

And to be honest, the big story arc, with The Doctor constantly meeting the girl in all kinds of situations, and Richard E Grant being all mysterious, I'm not hooked at all.
I wish the Ice Warriors come back for three eps, trying to take over Earth. How about keeping it simple, if complex is too much of a stretch for the writer?

[Bruce Banner]

Thought it was pretty cool.

Of all the recent DW companions, I'm most interested in Clara, and finding out exactly how she ends up a Dalek.

Smith's new outfit is great.

And the new TARDIS interior is the best it's looked for years.

[palitoy]

I liked it, I hope it leads somewhere but I'm in.