Quote: Punk Anarcho @ September 9 2012, 11:15 AM BSTCall me old fashioned but I like my plot lines to have some sort of logic to them.
Why not just shoot back in time and pick up Rasputin.. Why Neffettiti?
Wasn't he just with her at the start, and she came along?
Yup and if the Dr drops in on the Ponds, Sara Jane,Unit etc etc why not a big game hunter?
I just rewatched the opening couple of minutes; The Doctor is in ancient Egypt, just had some sort of adventure there, the Queen is insisting on coming with him, won't take no for an aswer, so he takes her with him. The Doctor is then shown a big, mysterious spaceship, decides to pick up extra help, and so picks up an explorer and adventurer he knows to explore with him. Doesn't mention monsters/creatures/dinosaurs, the chance for adventure and the unknown is enough to pull him in.
I still think making the early bits fun and a bit silly, sets it up brilliantly for when he goes all dark Dr at the end.
Amazed no one else noticed.
Quote: sootyj @ September 9 2012, 11:25 AM BSTI still think making the early bits fun and a bit silly, sets it up brilliantly for when he goes all dark Dr at the end.
Amazed no one else noticed.
It is a very silly, fun episode, with really a very dark seam. The death at the end, the fact this guy chucked thousands off a ship into space. Bt grim!
I suppose you can't blame people for getting the wrong end of the stick with the opening, it moves so blooming fast that you might just be settling in, miss a few seconds, and suddenly you have an ancient egyption on a Spaceship and you're wondering why exactly! Modern Who often doesn't settle you in, it starts at a sprint and expects you to keep up.
Quote: Matthew Stott @ September 9 2012, 11:23 AM BSTI just rewatched the opening couple of minutes; The Doctor is in ancient Egypt, just had some sort of adventure there, the Queen is insisting on coming with him, won't take no for an aswer, so he takes her with him. The Doctor is then shown a big, mysterious spaceship, decides to pick up extra help, and so picks up an explorer and adventurer he knows to explore with him. Doesn't mention monsters/creatures/dinosaurs, the chance for adventure and the unknown is enough to pull him in.
But why, he's never seen the need to pick someone up at random before?
Ok he's in another adventure we've not seen and brings Neffettiti, but this is so tenuous it beggers belief.
Its also very lazy writing, not up to a standard expected of the show usually
But I must admit killing the guy committing mass murder did work for me even if it also felt American
APS
Quote: Matthew Stott @ September 9 2012, 11:28 AM BSTIt is a very silly, fun episode, with really a very dark seam. The death at the end, the fact this guy chucked thousands off a ship into space. Bt grim!
I suppose you can't blame people for getting the wrong end of the stick with the opening, it moves so blooming fast that you might just be settling in, miss a few seconds, and suddenly you have an ancient egyption on a Spaceship and you're wondering why exactly! Modern Who often doesn't settle you in, it starts at a sprint and expects you to keep up.
Put a spoiler warning on that?
Its kinda cool how fast it moved, it was quite a challenging episode.
Quote: sootyj @ September 9 2012, 10:50 AM BSTYou've got 45 minutes you can piss about with meaningful explanations or you can just let some bits slide.
I don't mind letting a few bits slide but the whole episode was like being buried under a scree of plot rubble...
Right the starting point is that to escape the K-T event the Silurians have launched an Ark full of dinosaurs.
That's good, but we will lose any reference to K-T event in the script edit, we don't want to risk boring the audience with all that complicated technical exposition.
Right now we need to ratchet up the tension - how about the Ark is crashing into the earth?
Great idea.
Yeah, I saw it in an episode of Doctor Who in which the K-T event was caused by a spaceship crashing into the earth...
Why would an Ark be crashing into the planet that it has come from?
Oh we'll just get the Doctor to mumble something.
It needs a villain though - it can't be the Silurians, not if they're being Noah.
How about the Ark has been hijacked by an unscrupulous intergalactic businessmen, so he can sell the dinosaurs? Got to be a market for extinct earth fauna, right?
Yeah, bound to be just what they are looking for in Andromeda Galaxy... And the Silurians?
Oh he ejected those into space, because he is that much of a bastard, see?
There's no market then for extinct sentient races...? Never mind, Silurians are a drag. That last episode with them in got slated for being really po faced and boring.
Tell you what, how about we have Rory's dad along for comic relief. Not enough comic relief? Okay, we'll throw in a couple of camp robots.
It's still missing something.
Well since we've got dinosaurs, how about a big game hunter? You know like in Jurassic Park.
Good, but it just isn't over-egged enough.
I know an Egyptian queen!
Terrific. Now has anyone go the phone number of Mitchell and Webb's agent...?
God awful, I mean truly, truly dreadful. Probably one of the worst Doctor Who's I've seen and that's saying something.
I'll start with the Pros before I unleash the Cons -
Pros -
The villain and the big game hunter characters were great. The way the villain was despatched at the end, also good.
Cons -
As others have pointed out, why take an Egyptian Queen and a Big Game Hunter to an unknown space ship? Maybe next time he can take a circus clown and an old Chinese lady if it's just going to be completely random. Logic fail.
Amy Pond starting up the ship's computer by randomly touching buttons, then operating it like she's done so her whole life. Her line about always start touching buttons was obviously learned in the Tardis, where the Doctor encourages his assistants to mess with the controls - oh wait, he doesn't. Logic fail.
Heavily armed robots cannot shoot a dinosaur carrying three people in a corridor. Logic fail.
The Big Game Hunter hands Amy a rifle and she exclaims that they're using tranquiliser rounds. WTF?! Where did she pull that out of her arse? How can she tell apart the different ammunition types for Silurian weapons? Logic fail.
The Big Game Hunter taking off his hat and expressing dismay over someone shooting a dinosaur. That's right, the bad guys killed a triceritops, a character that was never introduced to the other group and they're all sad for some reason. Logic fail.
The ship's controls requiring the same genetic code or whatever and there just happens to be a father and son on the ship. But they're not lizard people, they're chimp people, they're DNA is different and why do the pilots have to be related anyways and...bah, pile of space wank. Logic fail.
Add gay robots, dinosaurs sniffing crotches followed by the 'balls' gag and Murray Gold's constant comedy score with some cringeworthy dialogue between Queen Nerfytittys and Hunter LeStrade and you have a recipe for shit pie.
Thats about it.. Would have loved to have been on that board meeting..
"The Americans are gonna love it!"
(But then their TV audiences are already brain dead)
APS
PS If you just want action and dinosaurs being shot at a trip to Southend Sea front might be more appropriate?
Quote: Renegade Carpark @ September 9 2012, 11:42 AM BSTAs others have pointed out, why take an Egyptian Queen and a Big Game Hunter to an unknown space ship? Maybe next time he can take a circus clown and an old Chinese lady if it's just going to be completely random. Logic fail.
Yeah, look at my posts, I explain it.
Quote: Renegade Carpark @ September 9 2012, 11:42 AM BSTGod awful, I mean truly, truly dreadful. Probably one of the worst Doctor Who's I've seen and that's saying something.
I'll start with the Pros before I unleash the Cons -
Pros -
The villain and the big game hunter characters were great. The way the villain was despatched at the end, also good.
Cons -
As others have pointed out, why take an Egyptian Queen and a Big Game Hunter to an unknown space ship? Maybe next time he can take a circus clown and an old Chinese lady if it's just going to be completely random. Logic fail.
or a scots rebel, robot dog, school girl timelord, school boy whose actually a space terrorist, John Barrowman he aint fussy.
Quote: Renegade Carpark @ September 9 2012, 11:42 AM BSTThe Big Game Hunter hands Amy a rifle and she exclaims that they're using tranquiliser rounds. WTF?! Where did she pull that out of her arse? How can she tell apart the different ammunition types for Silurian weapons? Logic fail.
He tosses her the 'ammunition', which she looks at and then realises it's tranquilisers. Watch and then criticise stuff properly at least!
Quote: Renegade Carpark @ September 9 2012, 11:42 AM BST
Amy Pond starting up the ship's computer by randomly touching buttons, then operating it like she's done so her whole life. Her line about always start touching buttons was obviously learned in the Tardis, where the Doctor encourages his assistants to mess with the controls - oh wait, he doesn't. Logic fail.
Yes he does let them fiddle and people figuring stuff out in the future is a trope whos had from the early days.
Quote: Renegade Carpark @ September 9 2012, 11:42 AM BSTHeavily armed robots cannot shoot a dinosaur carrying three people in a corridor. Logic fail.
Cheap robots that don't work properly and no one shoots straight in who, atleast this time theres an explanation.
Quote: sootyj @ September 9 2012, 11:53 AM BSTor a scots rebel, robot dog, school girl timelord, school boy whose actually a space terrorist, John Barrowman he aint fussy.
All introductions which were explained. It is called plotting, a great help to the suspension of disbelief.