Doctor Who

[DRW50]

I wouldn't be surprised. Age issue aside, I just don't think Clara has ever worked.

It's time to have a male companion again, and a Barbara-type companion.

[marceline]

I'm not sorry. I never had anything against Clara but she didn't work for me. I hated the whole "impossible girl" thing.

[katie_9918]

I'm so excited for Capaldi tonight!

[DRW50]

Peter Capaldi One Show interview. Between his clear embarrassment at the ebay segment and his clear surprise and annoyance at the female host asking him about Jenna Coleman leaving without clearing it first, it's more entertaining than expected.

Turn your volume down.

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Edited August 24, 2014 by DRW50

[marceline]

Capaldi's got this. He was wonderful and I'm really liking the shift in tone away from romance. I'm looking forward to a new companion. Clara's just a poorly-written mess and I can't bring myself to care about her at all.

The Paternoster gang is always a pleasure to me and it was nice to see Vastra and Jenny's marriage fleshed out a little bit.

I found some of the comments about The Doctor's age to be way out of line. At first I was glad they nodded to the change but after a while I got tired of them acting like the doctor regenerated as a paraplegic.

[DRW50]

I watched “Deep Breath” last night.

It was about what I expected (plotless, padded, interminable at times, and as with last season, still struggling to define what should be our main characters), and yet in places still strong (I loved the use of Vastra as the Brigadier, and I love that she has her own Brigadier [the police inspector]; the writing for Jenny/Vastra was hamfisted at times but I appreciated learning more about the dynamics of their relationship; after being annoyed by him in some previous episodes Strax genuinely amused me here; I thought Capaldi was appropriately downbeat and lost, even if I at times struggled to hear what he was saying; some of the clockwork sequences were superb; Clara had some poignant and combative moments Jenna sold [and I loved the tear down her cheek when she was trying not to breathe]; Matt Smith’s cameo broke my heart and was done superbly). All in all I’d say it was a 6/10, which is not bad for the recent years of the show.

My main complaints are, yet again, about Clara’s characterization.

I don’t believe the show ever did enough to believably establish her as being in love with the Doctor to warrant having her be so lost as to not having the man she loved. This was, at the most, a flirty bond, and even that was couched in problematic material never dealt with (he lied to her, he manipulated her).

Were they using her to try to reach out to fans who are upset that the Doctor is no longer young and beautiful? That his “mask” is no longer tailored to them? Perhaps. If so, then once again she is a plot device, not a character.

I also don’t understand why someone who was “born to save the Doctor” and who was there in every incarnation he had would not understand regeneration. Was all that wiped away? If so, then she truly is just a generic companion, with nothing ever being about her.

And why can’t we ever have her talking about her past/other self’s experiences in “The Snowmen,” since this is her second episode set in the Victorian era?

If she does not remember any of this, then what was the point? And what is her characterization? Was an entire season of her worth absolutely nothing, beyond being in love with the Doctor?

It’s a shame, because at times she reminds me of Lis Sladen/Sarah Jane during her golden years with Four. Yet nothing in the writing backs this up. It’s just scraps and wasted potential.

Edited August 24, 2014 by DRW50

[JaneAusten]

Capaldi is terrific. And this coming from someone who was lukewarm on Tennant and loved Matt Smith. But I have always loved Capaldi so no surprise.

The constant reminders of his age, well I started wondering if it's because the younger part of the Who fanbase in GBr are still sort of freaked out with an older Dr. Who. I think Capaldi will win them all over in time and like you I am thrilled that the romance aspect will be taking a backseat, if not disappearing in it's entirely. That's never really been what the Dr. has been about and I sometimes wonder if the shift towards that with Tennant and Smith had to do with not only the youth of the leads, but the show's growing appeal in the US.

I think the problem with Clara IMO has always been her motives. It's never been clearly established why she's on this journey with the Doctor outside of a possible romantic interest I guess, something that I never felt was lacking in his prior companions, and frankly I am really looking forward to her departure.

Edited August 24, 2014 by JaneAusten

[Vee]

Most of the fan reaction I've seen online (at least, in the UK which is honestly most of where I bother taking any online reaction seriously) said this was an incredible showcase for Clara - I don't know about that, because I thought they began developing her better in Day of the Doctor and continued from there, I don't see much of a difference or more intense focus so much as just more of a steady thing from the last few stories. I don't think they tried to indicate that she was ever in love with the Doctor or he with her, but it was a different, more flirtatious dynamic which the new Doctor is no longer interested in. (I could see some of it in Series 7, but I honestly never took it seriously - I think they talked about it more in the press than it was ever onscreen, frankly. And I think Eleven was more into just having someone to pal around with without all the baggage from Amy and Rory, though he loved them; Clara was intriguing and yet far less complicated.)

I think Capaldi and Coleman are very, very, very good together, better than what she had with Smith. The restaurant scene was priceless. And he is already a wonderful force to be reckoned with. The whole episode was a massive stylistic departure, in terms of Ben Wheatley's direction and the tone and pace as well - I thought it was a risk, but I thought it paid off. Was it the greatest premiere? No, but I thought it was quite good. I don't think most of the recent series have been plotless, but I do think this story definitely was, relatively, because it was more about the characters and that interplay, the Doctor and Clara and how they will relate to each other now, how the Doctor relates to the robot monsters and so on. The mystery was incidental to their dynamic, which I was fine with in this case.

Overall I thought it was an impressive change of pace and I hope it continues. They clearly are not interested in keeping the existing audience feeling safe and cosseted and they took a lot of risks with how to tell that story and execute it onscreen. And I do think some of the commentary on regeneration was, partly, a thumb in the eye to a lot of more recent fans, and I think some of them deserve it.

I will miss Jenna if she is out this year. She is just starting to come into her own IMO, especially opposite Capaldi. She is largely a functional, standard companion, but with so much spark and verve - and that's really what the best of them used to be. The proof will come in what they do with her going forward, though, assuming they intend to continue developing her.

Edited August 24, 2014 by Vee

[DRW50]

They give Clara lot of fast dialogue and moments that are memorable on the surface, but there's no inner life. Sometimes I do care about her, but I don't connect.

I felt a little sorry for Capaldi with the age comments, but so many fans are upset about having an older actor in the role, I can see why they addressed it.

The homeless man the Doctor met and spoke with was played by Brian Miller, Lis Sladen's husband.

[JaneAusten]

My biggest problem with Clara has always been why is she there. I've never gotten a real sense of that. Clara's initial reaction to the regeneration and the "new" Dr. is a perfect example of this. I found her shock, if you want to call it that I guess, very strangely played.

But I kind of agree with Vee in that the banter with Capaldi was better than the banter or flirtatiousness she had with Smith, something that, while I adored Smith, never really worked for me.

[~bl~]

Loved that it was Lis Sladen's husband... I thought that it was strange that Clara had that reaction, and wasn't sure why it was being acted in that way either. I took it as a direction issue, and the fact that Jenna felt odd being so negative about Peter's long and between takes would apologize...

[DRW50]

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/08/25/doctor-who-delivers-highest-rated-season-premiere-ever-on-bbc-america/296441/

[DRW50]

Elisabeth Sladen in the shampoo ad here (at about 2:20 or so).

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[DRW50]

Glad I'm not the only one...

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/sep/11/doctor-who-peter-capaldi-american-fans-scottish-accent

[katie_9918]

For me, it's gotten better by episode. I had to resort to reading a transcript for Deep Breath. And it wasn't the accent for me, it was a combination of some mumbling going on and a lot of fast talking.

That being said, I'm thoroughly enjoying this season, and Capaldi's take on the Doctor. I think the change has also been good for Jenna Coleman's Clara. I'm starting to get attached to her for the first time. I'm also really enjoying this Danny Pink guy. We need a new Team TARDIS.