Quote: Timbo @ May 29 2011, 12:23 PM BSTAfter a promising start, which set up all sorts of possibilities, Amy has become a disappointingly bland character; it does not help that Gillen has such a limited range, but the writers have really done nothing to make her engaging.
To be fair to the writers, characters aren't their strong point.
Quote: chipolata @ May 29 2011, 12:27 PM BSTTo be fair to the writers, characters aren't their strong point.
Now that is a backhanded statement! 
The Doc and River Song are great characters, at least.
Quote: chipolata @ May 29 2011, 8:11 AM BSTThey should have had the Gangers episode earlier in the run rather than introduce the concept of clones in the same episodes that reveal Pond is one. Similar to the Dream Lord episode, the writers seem to have forgotten about basic forshadowing.
Um... aren't you one of the chaps always bitching about too much arc stuff in this series?
I don't think it needed to be earlier in the series; in fact it probably makes more sense that she is revelaed in the same episode we see them, certainly for the sake of the more casual viewers.
Quote: Kevin Murphy @ May 29 2011, 12:52 PM BSTUm... aren't you one of the chaps always bitching about too much arc stuff in this series?
Actually, no. I don't mind big arcs providing they've got the talent to carry them off. If you're a little lacking in the talent department it might be best to keep it simple - less to go wrong.
And if you're going to set things up, you have to follow through. It's rank amatuerism if you don't.
Quote: chipolata @ May 29 2011, 12:59 PM BSTActually, no. I don't mind big arcs providing they've got the talent to carry them off. If you're a little lacking in the talent department it might be best to keep it simple - less to go wrong.
And if you're going to set things up, you have to follow through. It's rank amatuerism if you don't.
You really are sneery about the ability of all these writers! It's kind of funny, in a way. Certainly Moffat and Gaiman from this series are obviously talented and have provided good work.
As for following through on things you've set up, let's see! We haven't reached the (hopeful) pay offs yet.
Quote: Matthew Stott @ May 29 2011, 12:56 PM BSTI don't think it needed to be earlier in the series; in fact it probably makes more sense that she is revelaed in the same episode we see them, certainly for the sake of the more casual viewers.
Yeah, because Moff really cares about the casual viewers.
Quote: chipolata @ May 29 2011, 1:01 PM BSTYeah, because Moff really cares about the casual viewers.
He obviously does, which is why, despite making the arc more involved, most episodes are completely stand alone and require nothing in the way of prior information. Not that the casual viewer should be the first thought when approaching every episode, really.
I don't really give much of a toss when it comes to the standalone stuff, but the arc really intrigues me. I doubt I'd watch it so avidly if there wasn't an ongoing puzzle element to it.
Quote: Matthew Stott @ May 29 2011, 1:01 PM BSTYou really are sneery about the ability of all these writers! It's kind of funny, in a way. Certainly Moffat and Gaiman from this series are obviously talented and have provided good work.
As for following through on things you've set up, let's see! We haven't reached the (hopeful) pay offs yet.
I'm not sneery at all. I just think these guys are supposedly professionals and should be producing a better show. I want Doctor Who to be the best it can possibly be. I apologise for having standards and expectations!
Quote: Timbo @ May 29 2011, 12:23 PM BSTAfter a promising start, which set up all sorts of possibilities, Amy has become a disappointingly bland character; it does not help that Gillen has such a limited range, but the writers have really done nothing to make her engaging.
I think Moffat lost interest in Amy the moment he got the phone call saying Alex Kingston was available.
I did note that during last night's episode Amy had to say "I'm properly scared."
It did need clearing up.
'The Almost-People' was the almost-episode. It was well acted and had some reasonable themes but It foundered for the following reasons:
1. It wasn't a proper allegory. The flesh wasn't a stand-in for Apartheid blacks or African slaves or Palestinians - just a made-up race of plastic people who supposedly feel pain. Who gives a f**k.
2. It was too long. By about 30%.
3. There was only one plot strand. The attempt at a subplot with Rory was half-hearted at best.
4. It was too sentimental. The guy with acid burning through his ribs, lungs and heart calmly handing over his wedding ring and intoning: 'be a dad' was especially ridiculous.
Compare this story with the Robots of Death from season 14 (Tom Baker) to see how off the mark they are. The ending is similar in that the robots attempt to storm the control room and kill the humans, but in the mean time we have the Doctor landing in a grain silo and nearly being cut in half by a sandstorm, a satisfying murder mystery as the humans are bumped off one by one, a company secret a la Alien, an imaginative riffing on Tarzan with the Robot activist Taran kapel reared by robots, some playing around with Asimov's rules of robotics and Masahiro Mori's 'uncanny valley' (robophobia) and brilliant jeopardy where the power is cut and the huge sandminer sinks down in the sand.
The writer (Chris Boucher) is still alive and compos mentis - why isn't he contributing to new Who?
Quote: Godot Taxis @ May 29 2011, 2:06 PM BST'
1. It wasn't a proper allegory. The flesh wasn't a stand-in for Apartheid blacks or African slaves or Palestinians - just a made-up race of plastic people who supposedly feel pain. Who gives a f**k.
For me heavy-handed preachy allegory is a turn off. Moral dilemmas can be interesting in their own right.
The writer (Chris Boucher) is still alive and compos mentis - why isn't he contributing to new Who?
Chris Bouchier is an ace writer, and author of one of my all time favourite threats: "I am going to rip your arm off and beat you to death with the wet end."
Godot on your reccomendation I rewatched most of the Robots of Death.
Truth be told I wasn't going to give up a full 2 hours of my life.
I respect your opinion on many things, but this episode?
Sluggardly, wooden acting and wooden characters. Replete with "what's that Dr dialogue?"
And even the costumes seemed so poor it bordered on the deliberate.
The whole thing lacked cohesion and tension. The sets weren't just wooden, but unimaginative. The scale of the digger gave an idea of ridiculous size with no magnificence.
This was contemporaneous of Battlestar and Buck Rogers and inferior to both.