Doctor Who - Season 4 GUMBOTRON FIESTA!!!! OLE!!

B A D · April 07, 2008, 09:56:09 AM

Anybody else Torrent this or youtube it? On a whole, I think last year's opener was more impressive, but a good start. Won't spoil anything for anybody, but the last two minutes of the episode made me sqeee.

the_ultimate_evil · April 07, 2008, 10:32:00 AM

i watch it in the uk, and from what i've seen you either love donna or hate her, there seems to be very little grey area

B A D · April 07, 2008, 10:52:32 AM

I actually have watched some episodes of her show on BBC America, and I find her funny. So I guess you can put me in the "me likey" catagory.

Talavar · April 07, 2008, 01:33:28 PM

I thought Donna was improved from her Xmas special appearance, she wasn't nearly so much of a screaming banshee. Still, I preferred last season's opener, with Space-Rhinos on the Moon.

Kommando · April 07, 2008, 01:41:29 PM

I quite enjoyed it. Been following Doctor Who since um... I was a kid (seen every episode, and PBS ran through them all from Hartnell to McCoy at least twice). Seen every episode of NuWho (including Partners in Crim), Torchwood (just finished season 2) and even the Sarah Jane Adventures (season 2 is due to start this month). I like Donna's character. I know a lot of fans despise Catherine Tate, but most of them are bitter of Russell Davies "gay agenda" and the fact the show is mainstream and not their nerdy little secret. It will be nice to see a season which is a bit more light hearted, and yes the last moments were squee worthy.

the_ultimate_evil · April 07, 2008, 02:05:53 PM

Quote from: Kommando on April 07, 2008, 01:41:29 PM
I quite enjoyed it. Been following Doctor Who since um... I was a kid (seen every episode, and PBS ran through them all from Hartnell to McCoy at least twice). Seen every episode of NuWho (including Partners in Crim), Torchwood (just finished season 2) and even the Sarah Jane Adventures (season 2 is due to start this month). I like Donna's character. I know a lot of fans despise Catherine Tate, but most of them are bitter of Russell Davies "gay agenda" and the fact the show is mainstream and not their nerdy little secret. It will be nice to see a season which is a bit more light hearted, and yes the last moments were squee worthy.

i dont think he has a "gay agenda" but he is pushing it on torchwood, most of the adult aspects are just thrown in for the sake of it

bredon7777 · April 08, 2008, 06:22:25 AM

I was a little bit disappointed, but I've been waiting (im)patiently for this since Dec. 26, so it's probable that my expectations were too high.

[spoiler]
a) Too many near misses in the beginning- to the point where it strained credibility.

b) David tends to mistake mumbling for being emotional. I had to download CC files to get what he was saying in the closet, and later in the alley when he was talking about his past companions.

c) It just seemed...unnecessary. The world knows about spaceships and aliens now. Given that a) the process doesn't appear to hurt, b) the process seemed to have no ill effects unless total conversion was initiated and c)how dang cute the little fat babies were; why go to the trouble of doing it undercover? Announce it, publicize it - and I'm sure you'd get a million volunteers. Heck, I'd do it.
[/spoiler]

There were plenty of good bits, but after the A+ that was "Smith and Jones", this solid B was a bit of a downer.

[spoiler]
Oh, and I'm more pro Martha than pro Rose, but the Rose bit didn't bother me in the slightest; other than wondering how she got there and how she faded away, of course.(ADHD moment: If Rose is in an alternative universe, should there not be an alternate Doctor IN that Universe, and shouldn't Rose be looking for him instead of "our" Doctor?)[/spoiler]

B A D · April 08, 2008, 07:03:42 AM

There's far more to that little fade in then we're led to believe, I'm sure.

And Im of the opinion that every once in awhile a Dr. Who ep needs to be absurd to avoid making it all tense all the time. This was nice and light. After the Depressing as hell Xmas special, I really enjoyed it.

Talavar · April 08, 2008, 12:26:00 PM

Quote from: Kommando on April 07, 2008, 01:41:29 PM
I quite enjoyed it. Been following Doctor Who since um... I was a kid (seen every episode, and PBS ran through them all from Hartnell to McCoy at least twice). Seen every episode of NuWho (including Partners in Crim), Torchwood (just finished season 2) and even the Sarah Jane Adventures (season 2 is due to start this month). I like Donna's character. I know a lot of fans despise Catherine Tate, but most of them are bitter of Russell Davies "gay agenda" and the fact the show is mainstream and not their nerdy little secret. It will be nice to see a season which is a bit more light hearted, and yes the last moments were squee worthy.

I've got to ask: have you seriously seen every episode of Dr. Who? Even the ones that don't exist anymore? Because that's a freakin' lot of episodes!

B A D · April 08, 2008, 12:30:24 PM

I can safely say that I've watched just about Every Dr. Who episode from Pertwee onward. PBS used to run them back in the 80's as like movie of the weeks, with each story arc (4 or 5 episodes) in one sitting.

bredon7777 · April 08, 2008, 06:09:02 PM

Ok, so what Doctor is your favorite?

Kommando · April 09, 2008, 12:17:54 AM

Quote from: Talavar on April 08, 2008, 12:26:00 PM
Quote from: Kommando on April 07, 2008, 01:41:29 PM
I quite enjoyed it. Been following Doctor Who since um... I was a kid (seen every episode, and PBS ran through them all from Hartnell to McCoy at least twice). Seen every episode of NuWho (including Partners in Crim), Torchwood (just finished season 2) and even the Sarah Jane Adventures (season 2 is due to start this month). I like Donna's character. I know a lot of fans despise Catherine Tate, but most of them are bitter of Russell Davies "gay agenda" and the fact the show is mainstream and not their nerdy little secret. It will be nice to see a season which is a bit more light hearted, and yes the last moments were squee worthy.

I've got to ask: have you seriously seen every episode of Dr. Who? Even the ones that don't exist anymore? Because that's a freakin' lot of episodes!

Well, I am slowly working through as much of the missing content as I can, depending on which episodes have audio which can be restored through animation. But yeah, of the existing episodes, I have seen the run of Hartnel and Troughton twice. Pertwee through McCoy about 3 times. And I know I've seen the Baker run at least 4 times.

B A D · April 09, 2008, 06:14:37 AM

I think my favoritism is jaded by my childhood. I enjoyed Perwtee immensely, but Im always going to lean to Tom Baker because he was the very first doctor I was introduced to. Now, Peter Davidson's version - the more vulnerable and less omnicient Doctor also appealed to me on a different level. I didn't like Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy never had a chance to rub off on me. Baker (Tom) did have this quality of being all to human and then instantly alien seeming in another moment. Plus, I had a huge crush on the second Romana. HUGE.

Panther_Gunn · April 09, 2008, 10:22:56 PM

Quote from: Talavar on April 08, 2008, 12:26:00 PMI've got to ask: have you seriously seen every episode of Dr. Who? Even the ones that don't exist anymore? Because that's a freakin' lot of episodes!

Quote from: B A D on April 08, 2008, 12:30:24 PM
I can safely say that I've watched just about Every Dr. Who episode from Pertwee onward. PBS used to run them back in the 80's as like movie of the weeks, with each story arc (4 or 5 episodes) in one sitting.

Ditto for the PBS gold. I've seen everything from Pertwee through Peter David, most (if not all) of Colin Baker, but I think I've missed some of the later McCoy stuff. And of course, all of the new series. I've seen some of the old Hartnell and Troughton stuff, but, to be honest, what I did see didn't grab me at all.....perhaps the storylines were still being aimed at a younger group back then, and was also a simpler time. I have, however, seen one "lost" episode, where they showed everything they were able to cobble together of it, and in the missing bits, Tom Baker (it was one from his run) would explain from the script what was supposed to be happening. I can't remember if it was the episode that was shot during the strike in the UK, that they ended up just using a (Venice?) canal scene from in The Five Doctors, or some other, lost episode.

Quote from: bredon7777 on April 08, 2008, 06:09:02 PM
Ok, so what Doctor is your favorite?

Tom Baker, John Pertwee, Sylvester McCoy, in order. And it's still a close call between them.

Talavar · April 14, 2008, 05:42:22 PM

The Fires of Pompeii aired this past weekend, and I thought it was an improvement over the opener, but still not a great episode - good, but not great.

[spoiler]

The Doctor & Donna get forced into making a hard decision, surprisingly easy to kill rock-lava monsters try to take over the world, and we get some weird prophesizing about the Doctor. Also, the ongoing plot of the season so far seems to involve planets getting destroyed (the fat-babies' nursery planet, and the rock/lava monsters' planet)

[/spoiler]

Also, mod's - could we get a thread name change to just Doctor Who - Season 4?

B A D · April 15, 2008, 07:34:50 AM

Dude, its totally my thread. Im changing it to Doctor who's Season four gubmotron fiesta. nyah,.

B A D · April 15, 2008, 07:36:38 AM

I think ep 2 was a little heavy on the forshadowing for my taste. Obviously something screwy is going on with all the planets going splody.

cmdrkoenig67 · April 15, 2008, 08:00:59 AM

Has anybody noticed what the easter eggs are in the first two episodes? I mean, each series/season had a theme throughout (like Bad Wolf in S1, Torchwood in S2, Saxon in S3, etc...). I have yet to pick up on any theme as yet.

Dana

B A D · April 15, 2008, 09:07:01 AM

I have not, but Bad Wolf and Mr. Saxon didn't appear (IIRC) until ep 3 or so...

the_ultimate_evil · April 15, 2008, 09:14:01 AM

its all about the bees, the latest rumours are that the whole bees thing is linked einstein saying that if the bee disappear then mankind would die out in 4 years. the fact that the doctor actually stopped to acknowledge it does give it a bit more weight

it's all linked to the big D's return

cmdrkoenig67 · April 17, 2008, 12:51:56 AM

Quote from: B A D on April 15, 2008, 09:07:01 AM
I have not, but Bad Wolf and Mr. Saxon didn't appear (IIRC) until ep 3 or so...

The Bad Wolf referrence actually appeared first in episode 2 (The End of The World) of series/season One (the Moxx of Balhoun mentions the "Bad Wolf Scenario" in conversation to the Face of Boe) and Saxon's name first appeared in the Christmas Special before series/season Three.

Dana

cmdrkoenig67 · April 17, 2008, 01:37:03 AM

:spoiler:

So either "planets being destroyed" or "bees" or something else is the theme for the season?

Bad Wolf was the Tardis in Series/Season 1 and it left it's mark throughout time and space as a message to Rose, as revealed in the last two episodes of the season.

Torchwood was the running theme for Series/Season 2 (but it was first mentioned in episode 11 of Series/Season One and in "The Christmas Invasion" Xmas special before season 2) and they appeared at the end of the season as enemies to the Doctor (they were originally set up by Queen Victoria after her encounter with the Doctor and the Werewolf at the Torchwood estate in Scotland).

Saxon was the theme of Series/Season 3 (and the Christmas special before it, apparently the name first appeared in season 2 as a newspaper headline in "Love and Montsers") and he appeared at the end of the season, another alias of the Master.

I may have to watch the Christmas special (with Kylie) to see if there is any hint of an easter egg...And then I might have to watch the first two DW episodes again. I'm very curious to find out.

Dana

GhostMachine · April 18, 2008, 09:14:53 PM

I watched Voyage of the Damned on Sci-Fi earlier, and geez was it depressing!

As a fan of a few British comedies that have aired on public television in the past, I was amused by the casting of the actor who played Lionel on As Time Goes By as the ship's captain and the actor who played Richard on Keeping Up Appearances as the tour guide\historian.

Wasn't too thrilled that

[spoiler]The rich jerk not only survived but apparently got richer. I hope we see him again in another episode and he gets his comeuppance.[/spoiler]

Kommando · April 18, 2008, 09:27:08 PM

Quote from: cmdrkoenig67 on April 17, 2008, 01:37:03 AM
:spoiler:

I may have to watch the Christmas special (with Kylie) to see if there is any hint of an easter egg...And then I might have to watch the first two DW episodes again. I'm very curious to find out.

Dana

[spoiler]Venus has been mentioned in both episodes so far, and so has the Shadow Proclamation.[/spoiler]

Tomato · April 18, 2008, 10:05:41 PM

I'm not sure if it's unique to Season 4(seems like I heard it before the volcano peeps mentioned it)... [spoiler]there's been some mention of planets suddenly being gone for as of yet unexplained reasons. I don't know enough about this season's villains (got into it late) to know if it's them or something else, so I'll rely on the other who-buffs to let me know.[/spoiler]

Talavar · April 19, 2008, 08:41:47 AM

Why do people think bees disappearing is tied into this season's overarching plot? It was mentioned once, in a sentence where Donna mentioned a bunch of odd or unusual things, and it's a real world phenomenom. Has it been mentioned in interviews or something?

Talavar · April 20, 2008, 10:42:05 AM

Planet of the Ood aired this weekend, and I guess I've got to join the bee-bandwagon - their disappearance gets another reference here.

Overall I thought this week's was a solid episode, but not a great one, again. It was nice to see the Ood slavery plot thread from the Satan Pit episode get picked up here.

[spoiler]
And next week, Martha Jones is back.
[/spoiler]

bredon7777 · May 03, 2008, 09:49:00 PM

After the serious misfire that was Planet of the Ood, Dr. Who is back on its A game with The Sontaran Strategem/The Poisoned Sky.

A solid plot, incredible acting, and some great dialogue (most notably a shout out to one of Season one's best episodes that bout had me fall off my chair laughing)

The end was a little weak:
[spoiler]
The Doctor should've darn well known that the Sontarans would rather die than lose. And the twist with Rattigan was far too easy to predict/ [/spoiler]

I am now more firmly than ever in the "I love Donna" camp; which frankly shocks me because I hated her guts for about 99% of The Runaway Bride. Not to mention how much I adore her grandfather. And her reaction at the end of the episode was absolutely priceless.

Unlike Rose and Martha, [spoiler] I am going to be very sad to see her leave at the end of the season. Especially since my hunch is that the real Donna is going to die, and the Doctor is going to send a clone back to her grandfather and mother [/spoiler]

Shadow Proclamation and/or Medusa Cascade have been getting repeated mentions, but I think Rose wins the "season theme" award.

Oh, and next week's promo made me go WTH? But in a good way!

GhostMachine · May 04, 2008, 01:17:40 AM

The Pompei episode was a lot better than the Adipose episode.

Regarding Donna, I'll say what I said in a thread over in the Doctor Who section of Byrne Robotics: I never got to see "The Runaway Bride", but Donna wasn't as irritating in the Pompei episode as she was in the Adipose one. I don't hate or dislike Donna, but I don't like her, either. I'm indifferent.

I don't think we'll be so lucky this season, but I'd like a Cyberman and Dalek-free season 5. I'm probably more likely to get a Cybermen-free season than a Dalek-free one due to the fact the BBC had to pay Terry Nation's estate a (pardon the pun, since this is the UK we're talking about) king's ransom for the rights to use them in this series in the first place and they'll probably milk them for all they're worth before the deal runs out.

The fact that the Borg from Star Trek (who are an outright rip-off of the Cybermen) make the Cybermen look like pikers doesn't help, and they really could use a radical re-design if they're used again and not the alternate universe version of them.

B A D · May 04, 2008, 05:07:17 AM

2 things about the Pompeii Episode:1) I much prefer Donna over Martha. She's funnier, much more reactive, and not under the Doctor's heel like some love sick puppy. The Doctor needs someone who's going to punch him in the Jimmies once in a while.2) The prophecy "She is Returning" is supossed to make us think that its directed at Rose. I don't . I believe thats a bit of misdirection and that [spoiler] its the Ranni, not Rose thats' returning. Im not even sure that we saw Rose at all in the first Ep now. [/spoiler]