tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post699652609768038791..comments2024-03-14T05:07:57.110-07:00Comments on Doc Oho Reviews...: Series SevenDoc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-22428485528459289962019-05-29T12:53:51.344-07:002019-05-29T12:53:51.344-07:00Do you wanna know what my least favorite thing abo...Do you wanna know what my least favorite thing about "Journey to the Center of the TARDIS" is? It introduces the idea that the past is bleeding into the present... and only shows scenes from earlier in the episode. What the fuck?!? This was the PERFECT setup to show scenes from the series's past, and for the Doctor and Clara to see the Doctor's past incarnations and some old companions. But nope, they just use it as a plot device. Jesus!94830 086436https://www.blogger.com/profile/01516838358888778146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-66633519665612835342018-01-01T14:24:21.898-08:002018-01-01T14:24:21.898-08:00I was in total despair when I found Dr. Todd. My l...<br />I was in total despair when I found Dr. Todd. My life was going terrible and I didn't know if I was coming or going. I had just gone through a rough divorce, wasn't making enough money to sustain me and my children, and my 17 year old son had just gone to jail for the first time. When I talked to him, I immediately found a sense of peace. He was very honest with me and I could feel that. He also told me that everything would be okay. After my work began, things began to change. My bills were all caught up, the relationship I was in became much stronger, I was never FLAT broke, and my son was released from jail earlier than we expected!! I also completely got over the failed marriage and began to move on. And, received a better position at my job which will cause an $800 per month increase!! I felt completely comfortable with the work that was being done because I was always encouraged by Dr. Todd. manifestspellcast@gmail.com is the BEST!!!!<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-29238140740959042122014-09-12T15:50:34.131-07:002014-09-12T15:50:34.131-07:00I walked out of this season early: Asylum. And I...I walked out of this season early: Asylum. And I didn't return until the 50th.<br /><br />Phil Sandifer got it right, I think: Moffat is a deconstructionist writer. He's aware that his audience is watching for superficial reasons (the lovely actors, effects, shipping, continuity porn) as much as creative ones. He knows the majority of us are rapidly tweeting our opinions while the episode is in progress. As a lifelong fan it must be difficult to keep up pretenses that the Doctor isn't a dirty old man, that his companions primarily act as crumpets for us to salivate over, and that after 900+ years experience no force in the universe could possibly hope to match him. The current season is reexaminating the Doctor's double standard on violence and self-image as a leading man. All the pomp and eye candy is a narrative false beard on a slow, merciless deconstruction of western fiction and all its macho absurdities. <br /><br />I think Moffat will leave the series running better than he found it, but that doesn't erase the fact this watching it is akin to a social experiment.alihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18287658017103606748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-47665724332706484012014-07-12T15:17:36.932-07:002014-07-12T15:17:36.932-07:00Hello again. I have enjoyed reading your comments...Hello again. I have enjoyed reading your comments on the 2013 series. I felt we were given a very mixed bag. My personal favourites Cold War, Hide and The Crimson Horror.<br /><br />I'm afraid I found Rings of Ahknaten painful. It reminded me of a really bad Next Generation episode. There were also reminders of the Cantina scene in Star Wars. <br /><br />Cold War had its faults but I love the Ice Warriors and enjoyed David Bradley's performance. I wasn't sure about the Warrior leaving his suit though.<br /><br />Hide was interesting. The Crimson Horror was a hilarious blend of Victorian values, super performances from Diana Rigg and Rachel Stirling and a truly digusting monster. This is definately Mark Gatiss's best script for Dr. Who. <br /><br />The last two stories were a very odd mess. Some of the ideas in Nightmare in Silver were interesting but it was curiously uninvolving.<br /><br />The modern series has yet to produce a Cyberstory as good as the Big Finish Cyberstories.AFJQCornwallnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-88142820664365892162013-07-21T03:19:05.004-07:002013-07-21T03:19:05.004-07:00I too am eager to read your thoughts on 'The N...I too am eager to read your thoughts on 'The Name of the Doctor'. That said, it might be more interesting to review it once the 50th anniversary episode has aired. Hindsight is a wonderful thingAudrey the Leviathan Vampire Girlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-12418487167957910182013-07-14T03:19:05.250-07:002013-07-14T03:19:05.250-07:00The Name of the Doctor was great!I hope you reveiw...The Name of the Doctor was great!I hope you reveiw it soon...BSC SSCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-6525553604155190872013-07-13T02:50:17.032-07:002013-07-13T02:50:17.032-07:00Please write a review about the finale of season 7...Please write a review about the finale of season 7. Waiting for your opinion for months!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-77145654181670469592013-07-10T05:54:21.667-07:002013-07-10T05:54:21.667-07:00Did you mean Name of the Doctor, Peakius? I can...Did you mean Name of the Doctor, Peakius? I can't quite bring myself to review it at the moment - not because I hated it (although I do think it had problems) but because I am concentrating on other things. On day I will wake up and really fancy watching it again! Unless you force me too... :-)Doc Ohohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-63925400163778786022013-07-08T20:15:55.325-07:002013-07-08T20:15:55.325-07:00So Joe, will we ever get to read your thoughts on ...So Joe, will we ever get to read your thoughts on "Nightmare In Silver"?Christopher "Peaky" Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00623932380413168376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-50286650022983824122013-06-17T10:11:36.883-07:002013-06-17T10:11:36.883-07:00Alright, Nightmare in Silver. Let's see if I c...Alright, Nightmare in Silver. Let's see if I can give you at least a few great debate points...<br /><br />First off, I feel as if "Making the Cyberman scary again" would be a tall order even if it wasn't for the fact that New Who tends to make them terribly generic villains with a back story involving a mad scientist instead of the freakishly scary "soviet union"-style allegory they're meant to be. I mean, lemme point out for crap points that in reviving the Robomen(well humans under dalek control) in Asylum, they functionally killed off the only thing that the cybermen did in the new series.<br /><br />However, Moffat seems to have a fuzzy nostalgia for the RTD era, more so than I have, and despite Rise/Age not really getting over what makes the cybermen scary at all, instead focusing on making lumic a camp mad scientist and focusing on mickey and rose subplots, Moffat refuses to retell a cyberman origin story and retconning it(because, like it or not, it needs to be rebooted.) Never mind that the rest of the new series has a habit of making them look incompetent. <br /><br />So, let me say that based on this, they didn't have much to work with. <br /><br />It's the reason why I think this episode is so much better than the rest of the new series cybermen: while they're still generic killing machines, they're at least competent killing machines(or at least they know how to back the good guys into a corner without the need of ear pieces or cybermats...)<br /><br />No, what really got this episode over was Matt Smith. He hams it up, acting for two, and for the first time since July 2002, cyberconversion sounds petrifying. Because instead of retconning, they broke the one rule of Doctor Who that's been (more or less) assured for 50 years:that you can't cyber-convert the doctor. <br /><br />Scoff if you must, Matt Smith gets why the cybermen are scary. Suddenly it's very personal that the cybermen are very slowly taking away the humanity of the doctor. That to them, the cybermen are able to improve on the doctor's mind by making him a part of them; because just like the tenth planet, they cannot comprehend why the doctor won't just give himself up at first.<br /><br />Not only that, but consider what the cybermen already know about the doctor:that when he's angry or scared he makes mistakes. The entire universe learned that at demon's run. For the cybermen, through the cyber-doctor to now have vocal inflections to try and infuriate or create a sense of fear in the eleventh doctor, it makes the situation more horrifying in the context of a chess game.<br /><br />The other idea is that nightmare in silver, the cybermen fought a fantastic war against humanity. Put that into context, and it's suddenly almost as horrifying as the time war:<br />The human empires stretch throughout the entire known universe in "The Long Game", and now suddenly you have the cybermen, not just killing, but converting the entire empire, into what could be a relentless cyber empire. That they could hide millions of cybermen so close to the earth; that suddenly they upgrade against humanity and adapt(in some ways making them less human by taking away the need for flexible critical thinking); that they purposely put on incredible theatrics shows because at the end of the day they'd rather convert than kill, isn't that all the signs of the beginnings of a more dangerous cyberman?<br /><br />While I do agree that the episode misses the point about what makes the cybermen scary, in all honesty this episode takes what is left of the cybermen since the new series and at least polishes them up to a competent level. I certainly wouldn't give it a 10, but a 6 or a 7 isn't out of the question on a generous day.Kotrisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-74387473318492617842013-06-16T02:51:54.831-07:002013-06-16T02:51:54.831-07:00Hi Joe
Sorry if my comment was offensive-I love y...Hi Joe<br /><br />Sorry if my comment was offensive-I love your sight and don't want to cause you any offence at all. I guess my comment does seem a bit pushy. So for that I apologise. <br /><br />The things I've been enjoying so much about this series seem to me to be the things that no one else is, but I've outlined my defence above. I don't want to write it over again, but I lust want people to see that some here likes this series. I sometimes feel like a Series 7 apologiser, but hopefully on re-watches you'll take into account what I've said. If the figures get pumped up even by one, I'll know that you've seen a little bit of what I can see in these stories.Willnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-68480246469635877542013-06-03T13:27:21.913-07:002013-06-03T13:27:21.913-07:00Hi Will,
I absolutely respect your opinion but a...Hi Will, <br /><br />I absolutely respect your opinion but at the same time you have to respect those of others. I refuse to believe that you love every single period of Doctor Who and yet for all those seasons you might find wanting others might adore. Its the name of the game. I haven't enjoyed that much of the past two seasons but if you take a look at the rest of the blog I have nice things to say about pretty much every other period of the show, including the RTD New Who period. It just feels raw at the moment because this is what is currently being put out. <br /><br />I've laid out clearly where I am dissatisfied with the series at the moment, instead of railing against people for sharing their discontent why don't you offer a structured argument against those comments saying why you do like it so much. Simply saying 'lighten up its really good you bunch of moaners!' isn't going to convince anybody. If you offer a good defence for the show as it stands you might even be able to turn some heads. <br /><br />I look forward to reading it. Doc Ohohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-46719160208078659912013-06-03T03:38:05.251-07:002013-06-03T03:38:05.251-07:00Again, I can't see the negativity leveled agai...Again, I can't see the negativity leveled against some of these episodes. It seems some people have just approached these stories with the view of trying to find everything bad with them, and therefore forgetting to try and find something they like. People keep focusing on the bad side-lighten up! It's a fun show! Try and have some fun watching it! Though I do think people are being more negative now then they were for RTD. Now it's like "we're only getting half as much Who now. Moffet must be bad. Let's be grumpy." People are treating these episodes too harshly. Look at it from the point of the average viewer. These episodes have monsters, fun plots and great performances. At the end of the day, proper fans don't make up the key audience Moffet is aiming for, and that's how the show survives.Fandom can rant all they want, but people are watching it and that's the best possible outcome. <br /><br />This wasn't aimed at anyone in particluar, but some of the comments here are too harsh I feel, and so:-)I just want to show that someone here does like this series.Willnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-40246896043684349742013-05-26T04:06:13.048-07:002013-05-26T04:06:13.048-07:00Cheers, Brett. What a poor showing this year. I...Cheers, Brett. What a poor showing this year. I'm hoping for better next year :-) Doc Ohohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-62554211457006758462013-05-25T21:06:04.800-07:002013-05-25T21:06:04.800-07:00I honestly think more thought and effort went into...I honestly think more thought and effort went into your review than the production team could muster for the episode itself.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03379859304881261918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-33009803578215259532013-05-25T21:04:37.861-07:002013-05-25T21:04:37.861-07:00Spot-on review, my dear. I love it when you can co...Spot-on review, my dear. I love it when you can convey my feelings about an episode better than I can myself. ;)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03379859304881261918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-76381903065983594182013-05-25T12:32:48.563-07:002013-05-25T12:32:48.563-07:00True, the hour-long format worked wonders for &quo...True, the hour-long format worked wonders for "The Eleventh Hour." <br /><br />I wish there had been some two-parters this year - I think "Hide" is great as is but certainly "Cold War" and "Nightmare in Silver" could have benefited from fleshing out. Rather than a bunch of mostly mediocre or poor stories, they should have concentrated on making maybe half the amount of stories and lavishing time and effort to make those really good. When I think of true blockbuster episodes from Series 5 and 6, "The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone" and "The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon" come to mind, not the single-parters (whereas "The Big Bang" works precisely because of its subversion of the blockbuster expectations set by "The Pandorica Opens", producing something more small scale and intimate). <br /><br />By contrast, the best single episodes work because they are not blockbuster stories. "Blink", "Vincent and the Doctor", "The Lodger", "The Doctor's Wife", and "The God Complex" are all smaller-scale and mainly character pieces, and they're all among the best NuWho has offered. While one of my favorites "The Beast Below" is an exception to the rule, even Steven Moffat himself contests its quality (though why he chose to dump on that wonderfully magical fairy-tale/morality play while sparing some of his later work is beyond me).Christopher "Peaky" Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00623932380413168376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-13556426872074404832013-05-24T15:15:24.951-07:002013-05-24T15:15:24.951-07:00Thanks for all the encouraging words, guys! One of...Thanks for all the encouraging words, guys! One of the spin off writers mentioned when I was discussing the dip in quality between The Doctors Wife and Nightmare in Silver that Gaiman's work was extensively rewritten - but I have no idea how true that is. I genuinely thought that Gaiman would have found something more interesting to do with the Cybermen than what we got but it shows that all writers have their off days. As for the blockbuster approach, Peakius, I think it was a nice idea in theaory but without giving the stories the time to flesh out the characters, build up some atmosphere and give the plot time to breathe it has been nothing but a series of empty set pieces. Had the stories all been an hour long things might have been a bit different. Doc Ohohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-77990131437624364532013-05-24T06:34:22.731-07:002013-05-24T06:34:22.731-07:00Well personally, the news that there won't be ...Well personally, the news that there won't be any Classic Doctors in the show has already put me off of watching the series anymore (although I'll continue to get the Big Finish audios I think sound interesting). But wow...you're right about "Nightmare in Silver"! Is "Hide" the *only* story this season that doesn't completely fall to pieces when you analyze it beyond the surface level?<br /><br />The "blockbuster" approach was completely the wrong one for this series to take. Trying to cram a movie into 45 minutes simply doesn't work, as this season has proved 13 out of 14 times. Christopher "Peaky" Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00623932380413168376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-82749858445896283012013-05-24T00:46:07.295-07:002013-05-24T00:46:07.295-07:00Don't stop ranting Doc Oho. I love reading you...Don't stop ranting Doc Oho. I love reading your reviews. To be honest, I thought your review of 'Nightmare' were positively generous. To my mind, the only thing right about that episode was the title.<br /><br />Could you explain a little further why you think Moffat was responsible for rewriting 'Doctor's Wife'? It the first I've heard of this theory. I was on the understanding the script was 99% (if not 100%) Gaiman.<br /><br />My take on Gaiman's failure with 'Nightmare' stems from Moffat's briefing to have it be Cyberman story: A writer as experienced as Gaiman needs to be given a blank slate to come up with his own concepts, much like Holmes' best work.Audrey the Leviathan Vampire Girlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-29456943531092445562013-05-20T10:29:42.882-07:002013-05-20T10:29:42.882-07:00Man, your negative reviews of stories frequently m...Man, your negative reviews of stories frequently make me crack up (even those trashing ones I like!) and your review of "Journey to the Centre/Center of the TARDIS" was another cracker!Christopher "Peaky" Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00623932380413168376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-37503037298154913642013-05-10T07:21:31.104-07:002013-05-10T07:21:31.104-07:00You've brought up one of my pet peeves with th...You've brought up one of my pet peeves with the Moffat era: the longer we wait for/the more spread out the episodes are, the worse they've gotten. Series 5 was by far Moffat's best, Series 6 less so, and now Series 7...is just "ugh". I would argue that "Hide" was a classic though, and I suppose "The Crimson Horror" was alright.Christopher "Peaky" Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00623932380413168376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-68900052464731801242013-05-05T23:55:26.485-07:002013-05-05T23:55:26.485-07:00Thanks for the kind words about the blog - it'...Thanks for the kind words about the blog - it's always nice to hear that new people are stumbling across it and enjoying it. I am finding that the quality of the episodes this year is very inconsistent, with no out and out classics as of yet and suffer real duffers. As you say, if we have to wait this long for so few episodes then surely the extra time lavished upon them should mean they are of a consistently high quality? Doc Ohohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-86485929343777007132013-05-05T16:32:17.571-07:002013-05-05T16:32:17.571-07:00Awesome to have stumbled across your site Joe! I u...Awesome to have stumbled across your site Joe! I used to read your reviews on the Ratings Guide and enjoyed your infectious enthusiasm for the show , even when reviewing the ones you dont like. Im surprised that youre not enjoying 7b. I think the problem is as you say. 45 minutes isnt enough time per episode and Im surprised that the BBC hasnt increased it to 60 minutes as they do for the specials and other programmes. I think the frustration some are feeling is that we get so little and have to wait so long for new episodes.Corpus Christi Music Scenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02229534407604129381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-8004889944654881952013-04-30T23:55:51.060-07:002013-04-30T23:55:51.060-07:00Thanks for the elaboration, Will. I don't agre...Thanks for the elaboration, Will. I don't agree with your assessment but it is nice to see somebody make a case for the year in a period where the majority of fandom seems to be in a bit of a tizzy about the mediocre quality of the year. <br /><br />Nice to see lots of love for Hide too, easily my favourite of this mini season. <br /><br />Thanks for your kind words about the site, TF80. <br />Doc Ohohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com