Dr Who

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

Really? I thought it was comically rubbish - the concept behind it was awesome but they just made it another 2 arms/2 legs boring looking design. Should of been something far more sinister and creepier. I liked Saibra and Psi, they would make good companions and would be refreshingly different.

[Kirsten]

another good episode, really enjoying the series so far.

[Mr Mystery]

Really? I thought it was comically rubbish - the concept behind it was awesome but they just made it another 2 arms/2 legs boring looking design. Should of been something far more sinister and creepier. I liked Saibra and Psi, they would make good companions and would be refreshingly different.

Thing to remember is that Dr Who is still made on a relatively small budget. Not quite the shoestring of old to be sure, but still surprisingly small - small enough that all CGI monsters tend to look a bit crap (Lazarus Experiment for instance). So they stick to costumes, with relatively minimal animatronics (Raxos Queen shows what happens when they push it. Animate top half, bottom half did nothing!).

And it's a family show - they're limited it just how scary they can make it

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

Thing to remember is that Dr Who is still made on a relatively small budget. Not quite the shoestring of old to be sure, but still surprisingly small - small enough that all CGI monsters tend to look a bit crap (Lazarus Experiment for instance). So they stick to costumes, with relatively minimal animatronics (Raxos Queen shows what happens when they push it. Animate top half, bottom half did nothing!).

And it's a family show - they're limited it just how scary they can make it

They did well enough in the classic era though : Gel guards from The Three Doctors, the Krynoid from Seeds of doom and the Fendahleen from Image of Fendahl were all costumes that managed to hide the human body and make something that looked really good imo - they can do that easily enough with modern FX and have them look good. Another great example, while not Dr who would be Ambassador Kosh from Babylon5. It's not about budget, it's simply a lack of imagination and laziness on their part - i've been building monster costumes and props for years and with a little creativity it can be done fairly cheaply. Another cheap way to cover the human form is to wear robes but have parts that change the sillohette, I'd of ohad the seller have visible tree-like extensions under the robes and under the hood id of had fleshy branches that end in glowing "fruit"-like sensors - perhaps with a little fog seeping out.

[Mr Mystery]

Well, that's the best episode they've done in a long old time!

So much character development going on this season, I'm loving it!

[Erik Setzer]

Well, that's the best episode they've done in a long old time!

So much character development going on this season, I'm loving it!

I'm surprised no one took the time to tell Danny what the Doctor's beef with soldiers is. To him it must feel like the typical anti-anyone-in-the-military hate you see from a lot of people (even if it's coming from an alien). It doesn't sound as bad if you know the reason behind it.

Although, that's now at least three episodes we've seen touching on the Doctor's feelings about soldiers; two have him directly being nasty to people for being soldiers, the third was him not getting to go to the Academy to become a soldier. And it's somewhat starting to feel forced. I have to go back and check, but was he anywhere near that rude to the Brigadier when he met him? It seems like in the past he worked alongside them without trouble, and now he's quite the opposite. Is it just that he's had issue with modern soldiers who shoot first and don't worry about questions? (I.e. Torchwood.) Is it still lingering issues from the Time War? Will we ever get an explanation? (Likely, given that it's featured so heavily already this season.)

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

Wasnt a fan of "the caretaker". Same reason as before, I'm just not a fan of comedic focussed dr who and didnt really find it funny or entertaining - but each to their own as usual, glad your enjoying it so much MrMystery

Next weeks looks really promising though - looks to have more of the intensity and seriousness I have been wanting so badly and the space tech also looks more realistic in that 2001 space odyessy style, the creatures briefed look a bit more on the Giger side of things. Hopefully I will like it.

was he anywhere near that rude to the Brigadier when he met him?

The 3rd doctor could be a bit of a dick to the Brig at times, but not to the extent he is nowadays. He seemed perfectly fine with Sergeant Benton and other UNIT soldiers too. Successive Doctors seemed far more accepting and relaxed wround the Brig, especially the 5th and 7th.

[Erik Setzer]

The 3rd doctor could be a bit of a dick to the Brig at times, but not to the extent he is nowadays. He seemed perfectly fine with Sergeant Benton and other UNIT soldiers too. Successive Doctors seemed far more accepting and relaxed wround the Brig, especially the 5th and 7th.

That's how I remembered it (though I was a kid watching a lot of reruns on PBS back when I watched them). I guess maybe it's the whole deal with the British government creating a group of alien-hunting soldiers and UNIT being transformed into a much more military style force. Or something. Maybe it's a new wrinkle Moffat threw in to explain down the line, to add tension with Danny.

[Mr Mystery]

Since then we've had the Time War - and whilst The Doctor now knows he didn't do what he thought he had - he now knows he is quite capable of mass genocide.....

This is a thread still being explored in this series I think. We know Danny has some kind of shame about his soldiering days - focussing on the good things he did, such as digging wells for folks. The Doctor? Much the same....

[Anggul]

Agreed, I think there's a reason they've mentioned it a lot but haven't actually confronted it yet. At some point he's probably going to have a great big explosion in front of Danny and someone is going to demand an explanation.