Doctor Who - "Love and Monsters"

[mrph]

There was a good story in there, trying to get out.

It failed.

The video-diary aspect worked. The final speech - about the world being dark, strange, wonderful - that was probably the high-point of the whole thing. And it was nice to see things from a different angle - a good concept. Some of the cast weren't bad.

Shame about Peter Kay. And everything else.

Comments

[gashinryu.livejournal.com]

Was that Doctor Who or Scooby-Doo?

I knew it didn't bode well when it said the ep. was written by RTD.

Bloody rubbish.

[sadaprilsky.livejournal.com]

I groaned when I realised it was a RTD episodes, but I don't normally mind his stuff too much. It's just inferior to the other writers. But tonight ... I was appalled.

[aoakley.livejournal.com]

In RTD's defence, it took someone like him to regain the family audience of Doctor Who. Getting an Eastenders sized audience for sci-fi is beyond phrases such as "no mean feat" and into an entirely new class of superlative beyond anything previously applied to TV production.

But I do wish he'd stick to producing.

It wasn't as poor as the Christmas episode though. And at least Mickey wasn't in it.

[mrph.livejournal.com]

Getting an Eastenders sized audience for sci-fi is beyond phrases such as "no mean feat" and into an entirely new class of superlative beyond anything previously applied to TV production

Keeping that audience might be trickier, though. Even before the world cup, ratings for this season were dropping, iirc - at least one (broadsheet) newspaper devoted a story to that...

[mrph.livejournal.com]

It could have worked.

People from the fringes trying to track down the Doctor - good idea.

Video diary - seeing the Doctor and Rose from an outsider's perspective - good idea.

Shirley Henderson - always a good idea.

Having something unpleasant hijack our bunch of innocent eccentrics, directing them while picking them off one by one? That works too.

Jackie's reaction to anyone trying to get at her daughter. About right. And, as mentioned, the final speech was good.

Not realising that the Doctor failed to save your mother when you were four. That works. It explains things.

Aliens who physically absorb people? Not such a bad idea. It could work.

...but having them designed by a Blue Peter competition and played by Peter Kay? Dear god, no.

...having the episode written by RTD? Never a good idea.

...talking paving slabs? In glasses? No. Just no (even Shirley Henderson can't save that idea).

The Scooby-Doo chase could have worked, as you're getting it filtered through the witness's perceptions. But it really didn't, did it?

*sigh* Doctor Who needs more good writers - more Empty Child and Satan Pit, much less of the Slitheen and this sort of thing...

(although with a different actor and a different script, I bet that you could do a perfectly decent Slitheen - or even Absorbaloff - story...)

[livingarmchair.livejournal.com]

It needs to get of RTD - the bloke's a soap writer. He seems to lack any clue about plotting and infests the series with a bunch of bland, chav characters.

He's turned it into a soap opera.

[mrph.livejournal.com]

I'd agree about the plotting.

If he's responsible for some of the characterisation, that's good - I don't want to watch soap, but I do like the way that people who get involved with the Doctor see their normal lives fall apart.

But yes. Agreed.

[jorune.livejournal.com]

The chase sequence and the band moment were overflowing with self parody. Why ELO? Is a comment that most Who fans are living in the past?

[mrph.livejournal.com]

...having said all that, if you could get rid of the wretched glasses then I'd still be in favour of a return appearance for Ursula.

In a story set, say, two thousand years from now. Not played for laughs.

More as an oracle or similar plot device - an ageless face set in stone, watching the world for centuries and remembering important things that have been forgotten...

Just an idea.

[livingarmchair.livejournal.com]

Utter drivel, to be blunt.

[jorune.livejournal.com]

It was a show with a heart. The Peter Kay character really felt like a failed act from Phoenix Nights, full of comedy and tragedy. We didn't know the how, why or where he had come from, presumably he had absorbed people in the past, what had happened to them, etc, etc. Such details are secondary to the direction of the story.

The absorbaplot monster was a third rate villain against a major power such as the Doctor, the equivalent of a street thug thinking he could defeat Batman. When in fact all he could do was affect the innocent bystanders. A staple story of the superhero genre and I'm sure it would be entertaining to those people who are seeing it for the first time.

As for the paving slab and the 'relationship' I felt its tone and concept just didn't work with the rest of the episode.

[mrph.livejournal.com]

The absorbaplot monster was a third rate villain against a major power such as the Doctor, the equivalent of a street thug thinking he could defeat Batman. When in fact all he could do was affect the innocent bystanders. A staple story of the superhero genre and I'm sure it would be entertaining to those people who are seeing it for the first time.


Which is an idea I really like. Not every show needs to be Daleks and Cybermen, real world-destroying menaces. But we've covered some of this ground already with the Slitheen - especially with Boom Town, and that was considerably better than this episode.

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

Is he actually capable of doing an episode without a fart joke?

[aardvarkoffnord.livejournal.com]

Sucked, sucked, sucked.

But then, I hate the new Doctor Who. The current actor (Tennant) would make a damn fine actor, but he keeps getting fed shite scripts.

Come back Adams, all is forgiven.

[livingarmchair.livejournal.com]

I'd settle for Nathan-Turner to come back over this crap!

[livingarmchair.livejournal.com]

"be a bit hard to do that."
-- Yup, that was the point...

[dakiara.livejournal.com]

I found it quite refreshing myself :) Couple of bits didn't work so well I reckoned; the chase scene at the start was a wee bit too slapstick for me and the monster at the end, well, I never liked the bloke when he did anything else, so he just irritated the hell out of me :O)

For me though, of all of them, I will be fairly happy if they never touch the Cyberman stories again /me shudders at the mere thought of that two parter

[aardvarkoffnord.livejournal.com]

I believe that the series finale is going to be a two-parter cybermen story.

As I posted after the last cybermen story, "Who mourns for Mondas?"

[lougarry.livejournal.com]

I believe that the series finale is going to be a two-parter cybermen story.
as long as they dont stomp everywhere!

[dmh.livejournal.com]

I was expecting a pretty light-hearted episode from early on, and wasn't too disappointed. Jackie was pretty funny and at the very least it was better than Boom Town. ;o)

[lougarry.livejournal.com]

It was a day of disappointments...episode one being way too short and Dr Who being just...well, crap :/
I haven't really liked this series for some reason. Dont hate it, but it just doesn't seem on par with last season. Loved the last two (though haven't managed yet to see all of pt 2)- even the Doom theme in the beginning and the Cthulu monsters with wibbly bits :)
This one was just a filler and not a particularly good one either!

[aardvarkoffnord.livejournal.com]

The last one pissed me off something chronic. The first half was a great setup, but they fluffed it (in my opinion) in part two. Not going to say any more since you haven't seen it yet.

[lougarry.livejournal.com]

I think I know what happens, but have yet to finish it off - will hopefully see it tonight. TBH the whole series has been a bit damp. Maybe it's just me - maybe my expectations are too high.

[(Anonymous)]

I watched about 5 minutes and gave up.