And the ruins are at the abandoned Macassar Beach Pavilion.
Second episode was a bit meh for me, but just finished watching the third and it was quite good. Ending wasn’t great though.
The third episode was a bit light on actual historical facts and had a few issues that I quibble with because there’s no mention of them, that I can find, in the actual historical record. And people would have noticed. I know, it’s just a show, but imagine how interesting it would be (especially as I’m a social studies teacher) if the writers had managed to find some odd, weird, unusual, or small minor details about the event and find a way to specifically explain them through the appearance of the Doctor and her companions.
On a completely unrelated note, is it just me or has the new series abandoned the typical British video “quality” or “style” that I never liked about UK TV? It always looked like it was home recorded (at least to my American eyes) rather than being professional television. Japanese television has the same problem (which is why I almost never watch Japanese TV with a few exceptions). But now, not only is this style no longer present, there’s a wider screen aspect ratio. 1.81:1, maybe?
This is what I mean about the video “style”:
I enjoyed the 3rd episode but I hear what you’re saying about the ‘style’ of the video, it’s a little jarring to me also.
Finally caught up on ep3, watched with my 11yo son, who to my delight stayed with the story and was essentially cheering Rosa on.
It was nice to see Doctor Who explore some non-UK history. I guess there may have been something previous… Angels Take Manhattan I guess vaguely delved into the past in another country, though not relating to an actual historic event… But certainly this was a pretty big event to wade into, not to mention actually making the TARDIS crew part of the event.
@kionon - I hear you RE the perhaps superficial approach taken… and expect if this was back in the 70’s they’d have had more time to engage in some deeper / tangential storytelling. I again felt at least that the longer format did allow for the story to feel properly rounded - not like a lot of single parters since the series rebooted in 05.
I do NOT like the crystal time rotor.
So… we’re more than half way through our 10 episode season… and… I’m underwhelmed.
Maybe it’s the stories. Maybe it’s the rotten time slot.
I am far more “in” with the new Doctor than I frankly expected, but despite wanting to go in hell for leather, I’m just not seeing enough in the stories to give me those “moments” that make the Doctor (be the Doctor, for me). Even Smith, much as I derided his age, pulled off some amazing moments that assured me - he was the Doctor.
I think I need to stop the kids watching it during dinner, because I don’t get to actually sit and watch properly, and am not feeling any desire to then follow it up with a rewatch. But then - I’m so proud that my 11yo is wanting to tune in and watch “live”!
I know. First world problems.
I am enjoying the actors, the acting and the stories. They are topics that I would watch even if they weren’t Doctor Who stories. But maybe that’s why I’m not really feeling that Doctor who vibe as much this season.
As a whole… it’s feeling a bit ‘reboot’. I’m not going to stop watching any time soon, any more than I stopped watching Star Trek after the new movie reboots started appearing, but I don’t enjoy those ones as much as I do the pre-reboot ones either.
And yes… the crystal time rotor is… underwhelming.
You’re right, this current season is a bit underwhelming.
The stories seem a bit generic and could easily apply to any sci-fi setting, and aren’t really “Who”.
I’m just hoping it’s first-season settling and things will improve.
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After the latest episode, “Demons of the Punjab”, I’m almost ready to give up on the show , it was just terrible.
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I don’t think that the writing/stories will improve with Chibnall in charge, you only have to look at the terrible scripts that Capaldi was saddled with as well
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It hasn’t plunged to the depths of ridiculousness that ‘Victory of the Daleks’ did though when they had Spitfires fighting in space (and changing direction using aero control surfaces).
I’m liking it so far. I liked “Demons of the Punjab.”
But I’m also not a Doctor Who fan. I mean, I simply haven’t seen enough Doctor Who to compare this. I can say I’m enjoying it significantly more than Eggleston, but I gave Eggleston his entire run. Nor did I enjoy any Matt Smith, which is why I stopped watching.
Ep1 was quite exciting. Ok, it stole its premise from Alien V Predator etc etc, but it was an enjoyable storyline, and - character’s bloody well died! One of my main criticisms of the new era can be summed up by 9’s fairly early declaration, and all too often forecast for future episodes - “Everybody lives!”. I think what I really enjoyed as a kid watching early WHO, was that people died. Good people, often enough, too. I never felt like I was watching a safe cuddly episode of Disney - this was “real”.
Unfortunately since Whitaker’s opening story, for the most part it’s all been very Disney.
Demons of the Punjab I did enjoy (what I saw of it, between dealing with the kids), but I guess what stuck in my throat a little was the fact that just a few episodes ago, we saw the [whatever the aliens were called] from Capaldi’s dreary 2nd-time farewell episode. Beings that capture you a moment before you die, scan your memories for their archive, then pop you back to die… And now amongst that happening, we have these new aliens, assassins-turned-guardian-angels, watching over you at your moment of death. And… it’s all getting a bit crowded (and Disney).
When I heard Moffat was taking over WHO, I was overjoyed, based on the contributions to the series that he’d made up til that point, all of which I knew by name. Over fn joyed! When Chibbers got the role, I had to look up what episodes he’d actually written… Then… shrug None of them were IMO episodes to write home about. Now, sadly for the most part, that’s what I’ve been seeing.
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Oh gods, Victory of the Daleks… the episode I’d forgotten.
For a long while I’ve regarded Smith’s first series as the best in almost all Who, because it lacked any real stinkers - and Who has always been good at such variety that it can cram an absolute rubbish episode right next to what becomes one of the best hours of screen time in a decade. And here I’d forgotten one of the worst… I gauge the stories by how likely I am to re-watch soon after, and I did with many of Smith’s first season. Except Victory.
OK, I’ll admit “WOULD YOU CARE FOR SOME TEAAAA” has stuck with me as more hilarious than it ought, but that the one good bit.
Those stinkers did have premise though. A set up that fired the imagination, even if the delivery fell so flat it left me wondering if I even wanted to watch the next episode, only to be roped in by more premise.
Watching became a task right in the middle of the ridiculous Monks episodes at the end of Capaldi’s run. Some of my favourite companions and The Doctor in an epic premise, touching on some of my favourite themes even (alternate histories! cults! totalitarianism!) but… it fell so flat I only watched out of loyalty and I wouldn’t shed a tear if the BBC found it’d accidentally deleted all three episodes from their own and my archives. I think what had me wandering through episodes at the end of Smith and most of Capaldi was too much premise and setup, not enough actual story revelation.
Chibnall-era-Who leaves premise in the background, and focuses on story and I’m loving it more and more. There haven’t been any epic Doctor-as-a-god moments yet (given how many we had with tennant/smith/capaldi though, perhaps a rest isn’t a bad thing), and I’ll admit I want a bit of that back.
From that point of view though, for me Demons of the Punjab was really really good. It burned away what was hidden and showed more and more and built up to the end of the episode & left me stuck for breath at the credits. I watched it again right away that night, after doing the 7-8am Monday viewing before work. It’s up there with Rosa, 11th hour, Heaven Sent, Vincent and Silence in the Library. It’s not perfect - Ryan got thrown into the background a little clumsily.
Also, is the new time rotor physically connected to the arches around the console? That’s neat.
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Sorry but I couldn’t disagree more, I thought it was the most boring episode I’ve ever seen and we were tempted to turn it off before it ended. If the next episode isn’t a HUGE improvement on the utter drivel we’ve seen so far in the series (other than ep 1 which was actually OK) we will no longer be bothering to watch it.
IMHO they need to get rid of Chibnall, his story lines and writing are an abomination, this was also evident with Capaldi as the Doctor. He is a great actor but was given nothing decent to work with.
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As noted above - Chibnell’s announcement as showrunner didn’t thrill me based on his WHO background. What gave me some hope however, was Broadchurch. I’ve never watched an ep, but I do know it has won a swag of awards and is apparently a really good series.
What I am wondering now is… whether Chibnell is good at dramatic situations… just not good at thrilling sci-fi… ? (Also - I’ve no idea how much of Broadchurch Chibnell actually wrote? Maybe he conceived the show and ran it, but didn’t write much??)
As for Capaldi’s run… that was of course Moffat’s era as showrunner. I kind of got the feeling that Moffat was phoning it in, or maybe just trying “different things” (after x years of Matt Smith) which ultimately didn’t work. (IMO). Well - except the season with Bill. I enjoyed that season, because for the most part, it was simply the Doctor and his companion/s having adventures. (The Monk trilogy - I see what @Velociraptors is saying… much as I enjoyed a more indepth story, the execution was a bit… off.)
So, I’ve just finished watching Kerblam!, and it wasn’t a bad episode. Definite improvement over the last one. That said, it did feel a bit rushed in the last 10 minutes.
Side note, this episode seems to be one huge dig at Amazon.
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Not really a sidenote. It was pretty obviously a dig at Amazon, and one I felt was pretty deserved. I especially laughed at Dan’s comment to Yazz “Are you from the union?” being that (as discussed elsewhere), I am a union exec. I liked it, but the messaging was very transparent. All in all, I am enjoying this season, as far as episode stories, more than any other season of Who I have seen (which isn’t much). But it’s really the strength of the episode writing and Whitaker’s Doctor.
I like the companions, but I don’t think we’re going to see any kind of dynamic like Ten/Rose, so while this season captures my brain, it hasn’t captured my heart. Ten/Rose had a lot of stupid, silly episodes. I didn’t care because all I cared about was the interactions between the two.
I do like the dynamic between Graham and Ryan, and want to see more of it. Ryan clearly has issues seeing this old white guy who was only married to his grandmother for three years as his grandfather, but it’s VERY clear that when Graham married her, he saw her and Ryan as a package deal (since she essentially raised Ryan). I have a stepfather, so I understand. Graham has called Ryan his grandson multiple times, although Ryan has very often demurred. There’s definitely a racial issue here, because Graham can’t understand what it is like to be black in Britain, and I hope we see some conversations about that.
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Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse they produce that dross.
So long Doctor Who, I don’t think I’ll bother any more with your “let’s shove another social message in viewers faces” story lines.
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I found the start of this episode a bit… slow, and the message (as kionon mentions) was very obvious. I don’t have a problem with that message (in fact I agree with it) but I’d like to have seen the subject treated with a bit more subtlety.
Is it just me or are we seeing somewhat of a return to cheap looking sets and props?
There was some really obvious cost cutting in parts… (well I thought so anyway).