53 minutes

Just in case you haven't watched the Christmas special yet....spoiler

I liked it for the most part, but it was a bit of an abrupt change in the tone and pace of the episode when he stayed in the town and got old. Capaldi was a bit of a change of pace himself, too. He'll take some getting used to I have a feeling. But the new ones always do.

Yeah. That part felt a bit forced. I didn't care for the way they narrated the episode to move the story along through centuries like that. But the Tennant exit was so drawn out that I was a bit annoyed, so I don't know if I would have been happy with the story being drawn out more.

I was hoping that Clara would jump back into his timeline thing and pull it into an infinite loop.

Yeah, pull the thingy...

http://www.kasterborous.com/wordpres...uise-gall3.jpg

Oh, absolutely. She's pretty much bumped Rose off the top of my list. Rose and Sarah Jane must fight it out now for second place. Let's say Jello wrestling at the age of 25.

Meh Capaldi is really going to take some getting used to. I actually liked the pseudo sexual tension between Matt Smith and the companions...that's going to be much harder to do with Capaldi without him seeming like a creeper.

I did like the reveal under the truth screen that she "fancied" him.

I think Capaldi will be a good change, because of the potential that it does get away from that sexual tension, since you had so much of it with Eccleston, Tennant and Smith.

(Although there's always the potential that you could introduce an older companion. Not to mention an older male companion, although I think they'd hesitate to open that particular can of worms).

There are going to add a male companion from what I have read recently.

When I mentioned a can of worms, I wasn't referring to the possibility of a male companion, but rather to the possibility of a male doctor having a relationship with a male companion...

I watched the special twice. Enjoyed it more the second time around. Everything was happening so fast (as far as tying up loose ends), it was a little easier digest on a second viewing.

I'll miss Matt Smith. Gonna be a long wait 'till August.

They really got away from the friendly male companion role. All of the recent males have been semi-adversarial including Mickey and Rory. We need another friendship like Jamie or mentor relationship like Adric. Heck even a Harry Sullivan would be a bonus. It was never a sexual relationship before. I don't think Sarah Jane even considered getting together with the Tom Baker Doctor. Even Peter Davison treated them like a little sister. The can of worms was opened in the Peter McGann movie.

Awesome (spoiler if you haven't watched yet...)
 

Watch out Daleks...
 

I don't think they'll have that type of relationship, though you could argue they already did to a point with Captain Jack. Before the Doctor/companion relationship became based in a sexual attraction and caused a jealousy reaction to male companions, there was a time when there were friendly relationships with male companions, Ian, Steven, Ben, Jamie, Harry, Adric, Turlough.

The show is supposed to about discovering adventure together, not love boat.

I think it would be more about keeping it appropriate (or perhaps better said as "not controversial") for the younger target demographic than whether or not it's the love boat (which it has been for most if not all of the new iteration).

We are talking the BBC so appropriate (not my favorite choice of words) is different. Let's face it one of the biggest comedies in the U.S. has a gay couple with an adopted child...so even here it is appropriate.

That would be why I re-phrased it as "not controversial". I don't think it's inappropriate in any way, shape or form in a social sense, but the question is whether opening that sort of can of worms is something you really need from a show like Dr. Who.

The new male companion is Clara's teacher friend from the "name of the Doctor" I have already posted the link. Where it goes from there I have no idea.

That's what I'm saying. Why can't they have a real friendship? Why are they just a jealousy plot device. He had a friendship with Craig Owens, although it was a bit stilted since he was actually having to act human.

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Doctor Who is the mother****ing best.

my friend loves this show....tried to get me into.....i thought it was f'n terrible.

That is a great story.

Looks like the TARDIS will be getting a revamp again. From the live shots he's still using the Matt Smith sonic though.. IMO I think he's due for his own sonic, especially if they're blowing up the TARDIS

It's not for everybody, especially for those who take themselves (and their entertainment) too seriously. It has its quirks.

They did patch it up a bit by getting rid of Rose and drawing the line with Martha. I think the writers ****ed it up a bit by having him act like a morose star-crossed ex lover, but it worked. And then they ushered in Donna who was almost asexual. I don't know. Maybe Tennant is just a natural flirt and they went with it. Matt Smith didn't seem to have as much of a problem with it, and I don't think Capaldi is a natural mate to Jenna Coleman, so we should be good to go with the non Love Boat story lines.

They can avoid it by using a 40-ish Doctor and a 20-ish companion. The dynamic works better like that anyway.

And yet they still had the River Song/Matt Smith ship going which IMO was ****ing terrible. I liked the tenth Doctor being a ladies man, sort of brought you back to the Jon Pertwee James Bond/hero-archetype role for the Doctor, especially with the Master being his main villian. Doctor Who told on an epic/heroic scale. That said, I like how Moffat reeled it in with Matt Smith, though I found his second season really bad with the River Song stuff.

The choice to go with an older Doctor was really the only logical direction they could have gone after Matt Smith. They took the younger/good looking/hyperactive trend that started with Tennant as far as it could go with Smith. The rumor is that the 12th Doctor will be less reliable (Colin Baker-ish?) and the style is more dark--I hope it's more absurd and creepy than dark and gritty/serious.

It's funny. I liked the River Song character, I enjoy the actress who played her and I even like the concept of the story arc. I still felt disappointed when it was over. It just didn't feel like it was done well for some reason. As for the Doctor, I'm ready for him to be a grumpy old man with a dry wit. I think it would fit perfectly with the new companion.

I too enjoy the River story arc, and am a fan of Alex Kingston...I'm hoping they continue to use the character, because we know that a lot of her journal takes place after 10/11. She talks of older gentlemen as the Doctor, and we still have yet to see a Doctor give her her sonic.

http://i.imgur.com/1JLmIpf.jpg

http://rebeccaamoore.com/2014/05/29/...o-infographic/

http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/sexism-...ruth-63574.htm

Interesting articles about sexism in Doctor Who. They put every episode of the relaunched series up against the Bechdel test and found that Moffat introduced about a 32% increase in sexism during his run (which goes up even higher if you take in account the episodes he wrote during Davies'). In the picture, the lower the percentage rate the more sexist it is.

That's obviously changing now.

They really need to come up with something less flawed than the Bechdel test, in any case.

How is it changing? Because the Doctor is older? That makes no sense.

There's supposedly not going to be any romantic interest between the doctor and companions for the forseeable future.

Other than River Song, there hasn't been a romantic interest between Doctor and companion since technically Rose (you could argue Martha since she liked him but that wasn't reciprocated, even then that was several companions and years ago). There doesn't have to be romantic interest between the two for there to be sexist content.

http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/doctor-...date-60972.htm

Doctor Who Series 8 (2014): What We Know UPDATE

A compilation article of everything we know about Doctor Who Series 8 so far. This will be continually updated as more info emerges over the coming months until broadcast.

Note: This post may contain some spoilers. Spoilerphobes read at your own risk!

LAST UPDATED: 31 May 2014.
Airdate

August 2014

Filming began 6 January 2014.
Format

13 episodes

Other notes: One episode may end up being the Christmas special. Moffat stated he wants Capaldi’s debut series to be a continuous run and not split.
Main Cast

Peter Capaldi -- The Doctor
Jenna Coleman -- Clara Oswald

Recurring Cast

Samuel Anderson -- Danny Pink
Ellis George -- Courtney
Neve McIntosh -- Madame Vastra
Catrin Stewart -- Jenny Flint
Dan Starkey -- Strax
Paul Hickey -- Inspector Gregson

Other notes: Alex Kingston possibly hinted at a return for River Song.
Guest Cast

Tony Way -- Alfie
Michael Smiley -- Colonel Blue
Robert Goodman - Reg
Tom Riley -- Robin Hood
Ben Miller - Sheriff of Nottingham
Roger Ashton-Griffiths -- Master Quail
Trevor Cooper -- Friar Tuck
Ian Hallard -- Alan-a-dale
Jonathan Bailey
Pippa Bennett-Warner
Keeley Hawes -- Ms Delphox
Hermione Norris
Frank Skinner
Louisa Rose Allen aka Foxes

Monsters & Villains

Clockwork Droids
Daleks
Robots
Minotaur-like creature
Ms Delphox
Sheriff of Nottingham

Rumours: Mark Gatiss is reportedly writing another story with the Ice Warriors. The Master is also rumoured as the major series villain.
Writers

Steven Moffat
Phil Ford
Mark Gatiss
Steve Thompson
Gareth Roberts
Peter Harness
Jamie Mathieson

Other notes: Neil Gaiman and Chris Chibnall have both stated that they have been approached to write a story, but it is dependent on their time and commitments to their other projects. Neil Cross said he was writing a story, although it has yet to be officially confirmed. Tom MacRae has written another script although he is unsure if it will be in Series 8. Jack Lothian‘s CV originally claimed he was writing an episode, but a later update removed it. New writer Frank Cottrell Boyce also said he had a story in the works, although it was unclear again if it will make it to Series 8.
Directors

Ben Wheatley (2 episodes)
Paul Murphy (2 episodes)
Douglas Mackinnon (3 episodes)
Paul Wilmshurst (2 episodes)
Rachel Talalay (2 episodes)

Other notes: Peter Jackson has said that discussions over him directing an episode were “getting serious”.

Amy Pond and Matt Smith's doctor had a romance arc going for Karen Gillan's entire run on the series, even with Rory there. And there were certainly moments teased between Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman, although they moved away from that towards the end.

That to me is more sexist than anything the Bechdel test can come up with, because it essentially creates a (mis)perception that the only reason a companion even exists to have a romance with the doctor.

As far as the Bechdel test goes, as I mentioned, it's flawed in its own right, because, literally, the only thing it gauges is whether or not two female characters talk about something other than a man. It doesn't take any aspect of the production into question (setting, time period, etc), and it's easy for both a non-sexist work to fail the text as well as a sexist work to pass.

In any case, they're moving away from the TARDIS being a "snog box". According to them, I should add, not just according to me.

I would say that test is worthless. Most of the fans of the show I know are all females. They could not care less about the females companions.

As for moffats score. It is rigged, they need to include Rory with Amy as he was basically a woman on the show.

This is not true at all, for both Amy and Clara. The Matt Smith Doctor was always an "old soul in a young body" type and he was always portrayed as a big brother type to Amy. She came onto him for that first arc simply as a story element to portray her uncertainty to marry Rory.

Yeah.. this is a prime example of sexism right here ROFL

We're just gonna disagree on that one. No point in discussing it further.

ok, but there is seriously virtually no evidence whatsoever that there's romance between 11+amy ROFL ROFL

You're misinterpreting what he said. No, there never was any actual romance, but it was very obviously set up as a will they/won't they dynamic. This was moreso the case in the first Amy season, but even in the second there were very obvious innuendos.

Amy's Choice.

Yep.

What a stupid argument.

I guess Torchwood was ok even though characters were introduced only so the Cap'n could have someone strange to bang each week. I mean, it's not sexist or cheap or just selling sex because he's bi...and...well, we all know bi people are more open minded and moral...or...something.

Hell, Cap'n Jack was a complete man-whore who ****ed more aliens than Kirk. I'd bet Jack has ****ed both a tribble and a Zorn-zilla...

You're both misinterpreting and misreading what actually was on the screen. There was never romance or hints of it at any point other than the scene where she makes out with him and is rejected. Feel free to list specific scenes in which you felt this was obvious because I just rewatched the entire run and this isn't the case at all.

I'm not sure about the relevance of anything you brought up here. Who said Torchwood was OK? Who's mentioning Torchwood at all? The act of having sex with other characters isn't sexist by itself anyway. The fact that Jack holds either gender in the same light, sexually or otherwise is more to proof that RTD's material is even less sexist.

I think it's laughable that people are apparently complaining about Dr. Who being sexist because the supporting (female) characters are only there for a love interest or sexual tension.

Don't get me wrong, I liked Torchwood. Well, until Showtime or whoever got their hands on it. Point being the male butler character and flavor of the week character are exactly the thing they're complaining about in Doc Who...

I watched until about 3 or 4 eps after Marty McFly became the new Dr. I just couldn't stand how goofy his portrayal was. Didn't watch again until Tennant came back for the special...

I don't think anybody's actually complaining about that. I'm not, although I am the one that brought it up. I don't actually believe that (that the companions are there only for love interest or sexual tension).

The 'sexist' discussion comes from the a rating of the show using the Bechdel test, which rates sexism only on whether two female characters have a conversation about something other than a man. Which is a pretty ridiculous test, as I mentioned. It would not be difficult for an incredibly sexist piece of fiction to pass it, nor would it be hard for a piece of work that isn't actually sexist in any real way to fail it.

In any case I don't think there's some grand sexist agenda behind Doctor Who, nor do I think there's a problem there. The show has featured strong female characters for literally decades. If anything, the whole discussion of sexism is likely tied more to the fact that a female Doctor has yet to be cast.

No, you're misenterpreting what we're saying, but that's fine. I'm not going to waste any more time replying about this topic. I'm just not that interested.

(sexism on the show I mean, not the show itself)

Isn't the Dr's Daughter still out there?

I mean, that's a clone of him so...

Main character Doctor. There was hubbub (again) when the newly announced doctor was a dude. It happens every time there's a new one, and will continue to happen until a woman's cast. Ditto for a black Doctor.

Just one of those things.

And a ginger too

I just rewatched that episode last night. As far as I know it's a loose thread still hanging. She came back from the dead but didn't change form, and she did this while a mysterious terraforming agent was at work, so (IMO) we don't know if she can regen or if she has any time lord abilities at all.

Dat Ass...

Moffat has said publicly that he's not going to touch any loose ends in the RTD era out of respect (other than ones he created himself like River Song) so I doubt we see anything like that ever again unless RTD is involved (so no Rose/10.5 etc). He actually said that he's also approach RTD to come back to do an episode or two but he declined.

The ending was ambiguous enough that don't really have to do anything with it.

I don't know if this guy's videos have been posted in this thread, but he does go pretty deep into the stuff he reviews. Almost too deep. They guy can't possibly have a life. Anyway, I haven't watched this yet but it is probably full of stuff so I'll embed it here:

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Meh I don't really like this guy's videos or what he has to say. He admits that his first Doctor was Matt Smith and it really shows in all his stuff. Even in this one he says that when he thinks of an "unreliable doctor" he gives a Matt Smith example.. WHAT?? Colin Baker's entire thing was being unreliable and even Patrick Troughton to an extent.

I'm 40'ish and if Jenna Coleman were in my TARDIS I'd be pointing at the bumper sticker...

http://www.thecheapplace.com/image/d...ee-sticker.jpg

Then I'd mention that the tank was full and I don't smoke anymore, so chip in or GTFO.

:D

Finally saw the specials, no thanks to Netflix.

Horribly sick and horribly sunburned while watching today. I'll blame that for choking up when they're about to press the big red button. Hurt was fantastic. And seeing Tom Baker again? Wow. I think that episode is officially my favorite of the new series.

That's crude as hell. But I'll be 40 in a week or so, and with Jenna.. I could get behind the idea.

Davros?

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Look's great.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p022sxks

New Trailer

yep looks baus, though I'm a little concerned the tone will be too serious

Can't wait.

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Big question: I really, really can't stand Smith as the DR. I tried. Everything about the guy just annoys me.

I watched the specials with him trapped on the Christmas planet and the one with Tennant and Hurt.

Do I absolutely HAVE to watch more than the 7 or 8 Smith episodes to understand what's going on this season?...

Can't wait.

Been a Doctor Who fan since about 1981. Tom Baker was my first Doctor.

I'm not sure you have to watch any of them. It's probably self-contained enough that you could just start watching in a couple of weeks.

Good deal. The only reason I feel like watching any of it is to find out how the red head left as his companion and how the brunette was introduced.

Then again I'm sure wikipedia or something could answer that...

No, the show needs to move in this direction after Tenant and Smith.

The ladyfriend just got me to begin watching Doctor Who yesterday. Starting from the '05 re-boot. What I've noticed so far:

1.) they seem to be making up the time travel rules as they go along
2.) this Ninth Doctor sure makes a lot of little mistakes
3.) the score is really obtrusive so far

I thought the Tenant run had a good balance of comedy and drama.

I didn't really watch Smith so I don't know about that...

It did. I liked Tenant in the role. I would have liked a different personality out of Smith though. A bit too goofy. I enjoyed Smith's companions more than Smith himself.