FF:QLD Doctor Who

Why didn't anyone tell me about the Torchwood spinoff?!! Here I was wondering what happened to Captain Jack (He was one of my favourite characters) and then I find out he's getting his own spinoff, how cool is that?

 

Re: Doomsday:

What?


WHAT?

 

Sweet Merciful Buddha on a Stick, that was frakkin' AWESOME!!

Doctor Who - Episode 28.13/2.13: Doomsday

Five million Cybermen, easy. One Doctor...Now you're scared.

Cybermen have taken control of Earth. They're in our homes. They have our children. Resistance is being swiftly crushed.

And the last four Daleks in the Space-Time Continuum, members of The Cult of Skaro, have parked themselves in the Torchwood Sphere Chamber with a Timelord Device they call The Genesis Ark - the future of the Dalek Race.

Detecting unknown technology, the Cybermen investigate the Sphere Chamber, and the long awaited Dalek vs. Cybermen contest finally happens.

Except it's NOT a contest. The Daleks treat the Cybermen with contempt, calling their killing "pest control". Five Million Cybermen are not worth even one Dalek, as the Dalek Supreme; named Sek, oddly; concedes that the only advantage the Cybermen have over the Daleks is that they die more easily.

In the confusion, the Doctor manages to escape, free his companions, and come up with a plan to stop this madness and close the inter-dimensional breach, even as the Daleks start slaughtering every Human and Cyberman on the face of the Earth...

This was a great episode, so great that you can ignore the potential Continuity problems present last week and the unexplained issue of "friendly" Cybermen. Still, a Cyberman (Cyberwoman? I dunno) actually manages to use that tear-duct they've had for the past 40 odd years.

The dialogue is great; the Cyberleader/Dalek Supreme stand-off is like a twisted parody of the Doctor/Dalek stand-off in Bad Wolf last season. As Mickey puts it, "It's like Stephen Hawking meets the Speaking Clock." And they finally confirm that the Cyberleader is just a program downloaded into a new shell each time.

Rose gloating over the fall of the Dalek Emperor is also good, as is the Dalek's righteous anger at the death of their God. And I loved the Doctor's explanation for why Daleks scream.

Rose does leave, and it's a lovely way for her to go. Yes she died, yes, it's a cop-out, but it works. I love how she was more concerned about the Doctor being alone in the Universe more than anything else, and that the death of a star was a small price to pay for her to be able to say one last goodbye.

And it leaves the Doctor; Last of the Timelords, the Lonely God; to wander the Space-Time Continuum alone once more.

But, not alone. There's a woman in a wedding dress standing confused in the TARDIS Console Room, and she's PISSED.

And the Doctor's got NO idea what's going on...

As I said, a great episode, with some problems. This *should* also be the Swan Song of the Daleks and the Cybermen now. But it won't be. Dalek Sek survived by time-jumping to places and dates unknown, which means there's still one Dalek left.

Finally, did the BBC announcer have to be so smug about the fact we have to wait 170 days for The Runaway Bride. Honestly, I wanted to hit him with a brick.

Be seeing you,

Magnus Darcrider

 

I wanted to whack the bastard too. That's just cruel.

Don't forget, Magnus, there are still Cybermen in our universe. That's how the Daleks recognised them. They're still out there somewhere. If the original timeline still holds, and the Time War hasn't laid waste to previous continuity, in a few hundred yeards time they'll take over the moonbase, then retreat to Telos to freeze themselves, then be reawoken and engage in a massive war with Earth until the large supplies of gold from Voga finally (mostly) destroy them. As I say, though, the Time War is probably the explanation for any timeline inconsistancies. The simple fact that the Dalek's history must have been altered hundreds of times over the course of the war means that the entire universe could develop in vastly different ways. The whole thing could have altered the Cybermen's history drastically, or not at all. Maybe in this timeline, Mondas never returned to Earth. Maybe that pesky Haley's Commet incident never happened. I'd say maybe Earthshock never happened, but the dinosaurs had to be killed off somehow... I've certainly got more than a sneaking suspicion that in the 'original' timeline Torchwood never existed...

 

Right - now that I've caught up a little (although I must say, two of the eps I have just weren't happening, so I missed out on the christmas invasion and another I can't remember, but no matter)...

'School reunion' - So good. So very good. Sarah Jane.
Goodbye, my Sarah Jane.. ~sniffle~
Oh my God, I'm the tin dog!

"I don't age - I regenerate. But humans decay - you wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone that you--"
"..What, Doctor?"
"You can spend the rest of your life with me - But I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on. Alone. That's the curse of the Time Lords."

'The parting of the ways' = much sniffling.

'Dalek' = You're not supposed to pity Daleks ! Still good - great even. I near but stopped breathing when I saw a Dalek for the first time in the preview after the previous ep. More than glad that the inner Dalek creature didn't look like some unexciting liver/intestine thing as it was in 'Genesis of the Daleks' (as much as I dearly love the Tom Baker years). Nice how they explain away the Daleks seemingly inconvenient design by making it able to hover up stairs. I did have to laugh at the doctor going through the junk heap of weapons - "Broken, broken, air dryer..."

'The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances' = Fun in parts (gotta love teh Cap'n hah) - I got chills at that type-writer part. Spookeh. Loved the Doctor's sentiment expressed at the end, "Everybody lives, Rose! Just this once, everybody lives!"

'The Long Game' = Shaun of the Dead! Pity about Adam, he was cute, although somewhat moronic.




Now to aquire the rest of what I haven't seen, and catch up further

 

I too had a tear in my eye at the "my Sarah-Jane" moment. Just beautiful.

Yes, Dalek and the Empty Child 2-parter are the standouts of season 1, in my opinion.

 

Just watched both seasons in a fortnight.

OMG.

This show rocks.
Yes, I knew Rose's 'fate' before I started watching it, I overheard it at a gathering, so the actual end was a good surprise. The scene on the beach almost had me bawling.

So, what's the go with Bad Wolf exactly? I thought I had it figured by the end of Season 1, but now I'm lost, was it just a coincedence that was where the dimensional gap was, or was that something to do with Rose?

I want in on the next marathon too!

 

I think it was just a coincidence, just a little smile-worthy moment they threw in.

Glad to hear we've got a new convert, though.

 

Just watched the season finale.... I bawled.. was I the only one?

 

I highly, highly doubt it.

 

I cried!

 

Oh my yes.
So we're still over 70 days until The xmas special?

 

If my calculations are correct, we'll get a torrent on Boxing Day.

Or the ABC could give us all a BIG Christmas Present and broadcast it on the 25th or 26th.

I'm betting on the torrent.

Be seeing you,

Magnus Darcrider

 

Or the ABC could give us all a BIG Christmas Present and broadcast it on the 25th or 26th.

Not gonna happen. Any money.

Boxing day it is, chaps.

 

Hmm... no talk about Torchwood yet, it's been screening a little while now.

 

All this talk has be intrigued... Hmmmmm.

 

Hmm... no talk about Torchwood yet, it's been screening a little while now.

4 episodes in, I'm pretty disappointed by Torchwood. It just... it's failing woefully to live up to what it could be, and what it was hyped as, which is this 'dark', 'gritty', 'sexy' 'british x-files'. It's got all that, it's got darkness, it's got sex, but it all feels very forced, like they're trying way too hard. It wants to be like a cross between The X-Files and Spooks, but it's often quite clumsy in its implementation. One of the biggest things, I think, is that it's shot like Doctor Who, not like The X-Files. Everything seems too bright and clean for a show that's trying so hard to be dark and dirty. And while the story ideas are good, the telling has left a lot to be desired. The 4th and latest episode ("Cyberwoman") is probably the saddest example of that. It's a cool idea for a story, and the preview looked excellent, but the handling of it was rubbish. Any thriller aspect it could have had was lost by matter-of-factly revealing the threat in the opening scene and removing any possibility of surprise. The main villain mostly lived up to the promise of the concept, but her costume was so frightfully awful that it was comical, and it distracted completely from what was going on. The action sequences were clumsy and unexciting, and there were a couple of very awkward, tacked-on 'sexy' bits thrown in just to meet the quota they seem to have set for themselves. Weirdly, though, the final 5 minutes were actually breathtaking, heart-in-mouth stuff. If the rest of the episode had been like that it would have been phenomenal.

Also, I've got a massive rant (which I'll save for someone like Magnus or HappyBob) about how the Torchwood Institute is off its rocker, and virtually everyone who works for it seems to be a complete lunatic, and that their job really, really should still be being done by level-headed professionals like UNIT.

At this point, the only compelling reason to watch Torchwood is the final 5 minutes of episode 4, and for the continuity links with Doctor Who (if you're a fan of such things, which you all should know I am). Oh, and also if you want to see grand, sweeping shots of Cardiff every 5 minutes. My god, the Welsh tourism board must be paying through the nose for this.


Damning review, I know. I was just so annoyed by this week's episode. #3 is the best one so far, for anyone who's interested.

 

The christmas special is close!

So it'll be a case of Heroes in hiatus, BSG mania and Dr Who goodness this chrissy.

I know I'm a geek when I say:
wOOt!

 

Speaking of; BBN, would you be so kinda as to furnish me with Torchwood Episodes please? I haven't seen any of it yet, so if you could bring 'em along Thursday, that'd be great.

Be seeing you,

Magnus Darcrider

 

I'll bring what I've got so far, Magnus. I only downloaded up to episode 4, because that one frankly just plain sucked (apart from the last 5 minutes...). I'll probably grab the rest sometime, but frankly I've been deeply unimpressed. But yes, I shall burn the disc right now, and bring tomorrow.

 

I haven't had time to watch "Torchwood" yet. I hope I'll have time next week, so I'll post my thoughts, along with mroe "Heroes" recaps then.

Right now, a bit of a treat for those who appreciate the new series' music. An official soundtrack is being released in the UK next week, and Soundtrack.net have samples here.

Be seeing you,

Magnus Darcrider

 

A few more sleeps!!!



What?

What???

WHAT!!!???!!!?!

 

Wheeeee!

 

Here's my review on "Torchwood". In summary:

A good idea, horribly executed.

The perfect example of this is the fourth episode, which should have been on the same level as episode five of the first season of "Doctor Who", "Dalek". A partially Cyber-converted woman is awakened within the Torchwood building, and the team members find themselves trapped and without weapons as the base goes into lockdown.

Sad fact is, the Cyberwoman in question looks like a piece of bad "Heavy Metal" art. For frak's sake, why would they have converted a woman to have heels on her boots??

Yes, yes, nit-picking. But the devil's always in the details.

And yes, there does seem to be a token quota for "The Sex" in each episode. There are two problems with this; it is a token quota, so it's usually tacked on badly. The larger problem, for me at least, is that nearly everyone in this show is Welsh, and there's something off putting about somewhat plain Welsh actors yelling in throes of passion with that accent...

Worst example of this was the second episode, "Day One". It has a very similar plot to the first season "Angel" episode "Lonely Hearts", which showed the best way to do such a story tastefully.

My final rant about this is to confirm my complete agreement with BBN on this point; the majority of the staff at Torchwood III are unprofessional lunatics. The only exception really is Jack; the Police-Girl Moppet who joined the team early on might be sane, but her "It's My First Week" excuse is going to run out shortly. Furthermore, the storylines are taking fundamentally broken people and breaking them even further.

Would you want these guys defending your planet? I say we start a "Bring Back the Brig" Campaign

There are other issues too, mostly regarding continuity and where this fits in not just with the continuity of the last two seasons of "Doctor Who", but the last 43 years as well. I'll save those for anyone who actually wants to listen.

That about covers everything. Despite all of that, I will obtain at least the next couple of episodes to see if this show does improve, which it well could. The background material created for this show is excellent, so it could live up to it's potential. And also, Captain Jack Harkness is just cool, and a much more compelling character than when we last saw him.

Be seeing you,

Magnus Darcrider

 

I say we start a "Bring Back the Brig" Campaign

Sign me up, man.


The 5th episode of Torchwood is a dramatic improvement, but I think that's mainly because it focuses very closely on Jack, and reveals some interesting snippets about his past, and his character. But the thing is that Jack is honestly the only actually interesting character in the show. The rest of them are all frankly as dull as dishwater.