Doctor Who v. Patrick Troughton

[BlobVanDam]

For the RTD era, I much prefer Moffat's single episodes to his doubles. I still liked those episodes, but I don't rank them as highly as Blink or The Girl in the Fireplace, which were clear standouts for me.

[Mister Gold]

For the RTD era, I much prefer Moffat's single episodes to his doubles. I still liked those episodes, but I don't rank them as highly as Blink or The Girl in the Fireplace, which were clear standouts for me.

That makes enough sense, I suppose. The pacing might be a bit better in his single episodes. However I think the monsters in the Library episodes were immensely more disturbing and nerve-wrecking than anything else Moffat ever whipped out. Listen shines because it's an ambiguous, psychologically driven horror.

[ariich]

Pretty standard list it seems:

1. Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead
2. Blink
3. Listen
4. Day of the Doctor
5. Girl in the Fireplace

[wasteland]

1. Silence In The Library / Day Of The Doctor / Listen
2. The Impossible Astronaut / Day Of The Moon
3. The Girl In The Fireplace
4. Blink
5. Pandorica

[ariich]

1. Silence In The Library / Day Of The Doctor / Listen
2. The Impossible Astronaut / Day Of The Moon
3. The Girl In The Fireplace
4. Blink
5. Pandorica

Cheat!

[Scorpion]

May I just say that I am excited as hell for the next episode? I've read three different spoiler-free reviews and nobody has anything bad to say about it. Plus, it's supposed to be dark, scary, some great characters and have an awesome moral dilemma at the heart - which is basically everything that I want from Doctor Who.

[wasteland]

1. Silence In The Library / Day Of The Doctor / Listen
2. The Impossible Astronaut / Day Of The Moon
3. The Girl In The Fireplace
4. Blink
5. Pandorica

Cheat!

Ban me!

[ariich]

1. Silence In The Library / Day Of The Doctor / Listen
2. The Impossible Astronaut / Day Of The Moon
3. The Girl In The Fireplace
4. Blink
5. Pandorica

Cheat!

Ban me!

Ok.

May I just say that I am excited as hell for the next episode? I've read three different spoiler-free reviews and nobody has anything bad to say about it. Plus, it's supposed to be dark, scary, some great characters and have an awesome moral dilemma at the heart - which is basically everything that I want from Doctor Who.

I'm hearing it's quite similar to Waters of Mars but even more dark/bleak in some ways.

[Mister Gold]

May I just say that I am excited as hell for the next episode? I've read three different spoiler-free reviews and nobody has anything bad to say about it. Plus, it's supposed to be dark, scary, some great characters and have an awesome moral dilemma at the heart - which is basically everything that I want from Doctor Who.

My thoughts exactly. Been looking forward to Kill the Moon for awhile now! I'm also excited for next week's episode too! Apparently these next two episodes are both going to be some really dark moments for Doctor Who.

[Scorpion]

Totally different topic: re-watched the The _____ of the Doctor quadrology (I'm including Night in this) yesterday, and I while I certainly understand where its detractors are coming from, I still loved every moment of them. The Day of the Doctor is the clear highlight, but The Time of the Doctor really does a great great job at wrapping everything up. Especially if what I read is true and Smith actually wanted to stay on for one more season, meaning that Moffat had to cram everything of Smith's initial final season into the Christmas special when Smith changed his mind and left after S7.

[GentlemanofDread]

Kill The Moon is my favourite episode of the season without a doubt. That was incredible.

[Mister Gold]

Kill The Moon is my favourite episode of the season without a doubt. That was incredible.

I'm still reeling from that episode. It was fantastic! I'm not sure what my exact thoughts on the episode are yet, because it's definitely a thought-provoking episode. All I know at the moment was that I definitely loved it!

[Scorpion]

Jesus fuck Courtney please leave.

The rest of the episode was really good, but... geez. It's been a while since I last disliked a Doctor Who character this much. Well... not since Angie, I suppose.

EDIT: I want to be more positive on this. I really loved the acting, both from Capaldi and Jenna, it was properly scary, the spiders were great and the moral dilemma at the core was all something else. Yes, the whole "it laid a new egg" required some suspension of disbelief, but it is biologically possible. Plus, how good was Hermione Norris?

1. Listen
2. Kill the Moon
3. Deep Breath
4. Into the Dalek
5. The Caretaker
6. Time Heist
7. Robot of Sherwood

[abydos]

Well, I thought the whole script was pretty stupid and actually quite lame. Saved by the acting.

[masterthes]

I thought Courtney was alright. And boy, the Doctor telling Courtney she wasn't special really shows how different he has become. I forget which of the new Doctors made that speech about how everybody on Earth is special. Really great episode. Still, not as great as Listen though. I also like how the teaser didn't show if Clara was going to be there or not. I'm thinking we won't see her next week, but maybe the following one

[GentlemanofDread]

I think the last 3 doctors all said about people being special at some point in any form.

[Jamesman42]

I know it's Doctor Who, but the science was really bad here. Again, no need to tell me what show I am talking about.

Not sure how I felt about it besides the ending. That scene between the Doctor and Clara made it worth the adventure.

Also, no Clara in the trailer for next week.

[BlobVanDam]

I know it's Doctor Who, but the science was really bad here. Again, no need to tell me what show I am talking about.

Not sure how I felt about it besides the ending. That scene between the Doctor and Clara made it worth the adventure.

This. This episode was so hyped, and I tried to keep my expectations low, but I didn't think it was that great.
The science was super hinky even for Doctor Who (and what happens to those 100 bombs that were sitting on the moon?), and the story was kind of average to me. It was good, but not on the level of Listen by any stretch.

I'll have to watch it again, because I didn't hear everything because other people were talking, but did The Doctor know that the moon was a giant egg and hatched in 2049? Or was that still left open? Hopefully I like it more on second viewing.

[Mister Gold]

I'm not sure if I personally rank Kill the Moon over Listen or not, but they're easily the top two episodes so far this season for me. I spent a lot of time thinking about the episode and came out of it with a better appreciation for it with a second viewing. Here's my review for it.

https://chained-prometheus.tumblr.com/post/99195397194/doctor-who-kill-the-moon-review

[BlobVanDam]

Sorry, your review lost me at "masterpiece".

I thought the Clara/Doctor stuff was excellent, and I liked how different his approach was to past Doctors to helping humanity.
But as an overall episode, there were just too many issues from the start that lost me. It wasn't a bad episode, but it had the kind of fundamental problems that also brought Robot of Sherwood down too. It was still much much better than Robot of Sherwood, due to the great character stuff, but the underlying story upon which they built those character moments wasn't all that strong.

I expect on second viewing I'll appreciate the character stuff even more, but I think the story just holds it back.

[Mister Gold]

Sorry, your review lost me at "masterpiece".

I thought the Clara/Doctor stuff was excellent, and I liked how different his approach was to past Doctors to helping humanity.
But as an overall episode, there were just too many issues from the start that lost me. It wasn't a bad episode, but it had the kind of fundamental problems that also brought Robot of Sherwood down too. It was still much much better than Robot of Sherwood, due to the great character stuff, but the underlying story upon which they built those character moments wasn't all that strong.

I expect on second viewing I'll appreciate the character stuff even more, but I think the story just holds it back.

Fair enough. I'm curious to see how next week's episode will turn out.

[BlobVanDam]

The story itself for next week looks like a filler monster, but this season so far has made me eat my words whenever I say that.
Put that together with the Clara situation, and I'm sure it will be a lot better than I expect. After all, Listen looked thoroughly average to me from the previews, and we all know how that one turned out.

[BlackInk]

I agree with some of the stuff said above. I thought the story was an absolutely interesting concept, but had some flaws in the details through which it was presented. The acting was great, though I am really bothered by Courtney. She annoys the hell out of me. Jenna Coleman did a fantastic job with that last scene between her and the Doctor. Probably my favorite scene from the episode because of her acting.

This episode also looked amazing. Great CGI and beautifully shot. It was probably the episode of this season which visually felt most like watching a movie rather than a TV series.

[BlobVanDam]

I agree with some of the stuff said above. I thought the story was an absolutely interesting concept, but had some flaws in the details through which it was presented. The acting was great, though I am really bothered by Courtney. She annoys the hell out of me. Jenna Coleman did a fantastic job with that last scene between her and the Doctor. Probably my favorite scene from the episode because of her acting.

Clara's acting fell a bit flat for me in S7, but I think they're writing much better for her this season, and her performances have been great as a result. I like that she has a more personal dynamic with The Doctor this season, instead of just being an obligatory tag-along character.

And does anyone like Courtney? She is quite an annoying character.

[GentlemanofDread]

I always wonder if writers hate the previous one for writing a story with a kid joining the tardis.

[ariich]

I don't have any problem with Courtney, and I like the way Doctor Who occasionally includes younger characters. Remember, it's a family show. It's particularly good when the show is getting a bit darker/more intense, as it sort of allows them to do so while still keeping an element of suitable-for-children.

[Jamesman42]

The inclusion of Courtney was much more well done than the 2 brats that tagged along last season.

[Kotowboy]

I have Kill The Moon to watch on iPlayer tonight along with the first episodes of a new series of QI and Have I Got News For You

[Kotowboy]

A great episode ! Not as good as listen but still good.

I really liked the visual when you finally see the creature hatch. The colours of the beach and sky etc . Really nice.

Looks like Frank Skinner is in next week's episode !

[wasteland]

The science was REALLY wacky on this one, but I overall enjoyed quite a lot. I would have enjoyed more on first viewing had it not been hyped so much. Like robwebster, I think I should better check out from early spoiler free reviews and comments for the rest of the season, as those do more bad than good for me.

Anyway, a great story with some of the best acting we have seen this season and an overall defining situation for Clara as a character. Science aside (how did the moon increase mass, why did the shard disintegrate, how could a mass shift cause just one room to have zero-gravity effects and so on) it was really good and very refreshing.

Too bad the internet community seemed to hate it for one reason or another. I've seen this one labeled more than once as the worst episode in the show history, which to me, tolerant as I am of the other's ideas, seems very much laughable.

[BlobVanDam]

I'm glad I'm not the only person bothered by the science on this one, but despite that, it's nowhere near the worst episode they've done. I wouldn't even call it the weakest of the season, and this season has had an overall high standard.
The Clara/Doctor scenes alone made it worthwhile, and I think like a lot of this season, it's a case of something that becomes more meaningful in retrospect as the season unfolds.

[hefdaddy42]

I thought it was fantastic, wonky science be damned. 

It was a fucking space dragon!

[ariich]

I find it really random/arbitrary which episodes people decide to complain about the science. I can't see what was any worse in this episode than in, well, most episodes.

And yeah, fantastic episode!

[Kotowboy]

I give it a pass since it's a mostly bonkers show about a 2000 year old time travelling alien.

It's more about the stories and the characters than presenting hard science.

Besides - when they were all on the beach looking up at the moon breaking apart - it looked gorgeous.

[wasteland]

Besides - when they were all on the beach looking up at the moon breaking apart - it looked gorgeous.

An incredible scene I have watched at least 7 times in the past two days!

And I really hope the theme starting when the doctor tunes in with the new course of time is the 12th Doctor's theme. It really was glorious.