Series 5 - The Verdict

[sootycat]

I thought this episode was enjoyable.
I really like Matt Smith.

Even if you miss the 'next time' bit, you still end up seeing it in the trailers they show in the week !!

[RitaLittlewood]

They could just leave them as trailers. It really does spoil it.

Patsy

[Nick]

This weeks episode with the Dream Lord was interesting..and quite good...The only thing which let it down was the weak explanation of the space pollen..i am just hoping that that was just an excuse and theres more to it than that that may be revealed later in the series

[Deleted]

..and quite good

That sums it up for me too - not the best, but 'OK'. Amy gets better every week, and Rory had improved too, but it didn't really hold my attention.

Agree about the space dust - a real throwaway explanation.

[RitaLittlewood]

I missed it because I was out but will catch the repeat on BBC3.

Patsy

[RitaLittlewood]

Agree about the explanation. Wasn't happy with all this 'Amy loves the Doctor and Doctor loves Amy' stuff. Want to ditch all that and just have them FRIENDS. Looks like Rory's going to be permanent. Pity though he is quite comical. But this was an interesting story from the outset with my dad remarking the Dream Lord was like the Celestial Toymaker. This could have fitted into the original series very easily and I loved the way the Doctor made his winding gadget out of egg whisks and things, just like the old days again.

One thing which does annoy me (as well as the 'Next Time' bit) is how every series is a story arc instead of just stand alone stories.

Interesting to see the writer was Simon Nye. Would love to know how much was his and how much was changed.

Patsy

[RitaLittlewood]

I missed the pre-title stuff but the rest of the ep wasn't bad. However, the Silurians look too damn human. Preferred the old style complete with third eye. Plus once they had the thing, the story was too similar to The Silurians. Quite liking Rory though, despite being a dumbo. He's developing quite well. Also the splitting up is still good. It was always a rule of the show so stories go off into different strands.

Patsy

[Nick]

Haven't seen this weeks yet with being away over the weekend..will catch up with it tonight and give my verdict

[RitaLittlewood]

BORED! These past two eps I didn't enjoy at all. I suppose that's because they ripped off The Silurians and added ham actors. You also just know Rory will be alive at the end of the series. I hate these series arcs.

Patsy

[Deleted]

Must admit that my attention wandered during last night's ep too.

Still really like Matt and Karen in their roles, and enjoyed Meera Syal's performance too - would have liked her to become a regular.

Thought Neve McIntosh was excellent as Alaya/Restac - very reptilian, but sort of sexy with it!

7/10

[sootycat]

Not as good as other ones but still enjoyable.

I hope you are right about Rory Patsy because I had got used to him and liked him.

I am curious about that piece of the Tardis sign though.

[Nick]

This weeks was OK I guess...nothing speacial...what is it about this big crack thing??..it does get on my nerves a bit when there are things happeing throughout that 'tie up'at the end..like with the Torchwood business

[RitaLittlewood]

Well this was so-so and doesn't deserve the hype of being written by Richard Curtis. Loved the touches re William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton, as well as the gizmo with the mirror. Story itself was pretty lame.

Patsy

[Deleted]

We really enjoyed this one - great performances all round, genuinely moving, beautiful location and sense of period.

Only things that spoiled it a little for me...

1) If Vincent was shown to be a great success, and was obviously delighted by this fact, why did he then go on to commit suicide?

2) How come whenever the Doctor and assistant(s) travel to another time, no-one ever notices their clothes are out of sync with everyone elses?

3) We would have enjoyed this episode just as much (if not more) if there had been no 'creature', and it had simply been a time travel adventure.

Stilll one of our favourites so far, despite the above.

[Nick]

Bloody hell...we forgot to record it and missed it...we will have to catch up with one of the numerous repeats through the week

[sootycat]

I really enjoyed this one.

I loved the scene where they took VVG forward in the Tardis so he could see the exhibition of his paintings and how people loved him.

The scene where the Doctor was peering around that corner, and suddenly Amy appeared made me jump.....vintage Doctor Who scary moment. ;D

[RitaLittlewood]

Agree about the clothes, Paul. It's laziness in this revival. Heck, even the 4th Doctor put Leela in a dress to walk around Victorian London. If she was a character now, she'd be half-naked and no one bats an eye.

Patsy

[Nick]

Blimey I had forgotten Van Gogh was Scottish

Apart from the obvious plot holes...(Short skirt in Victorian times etc..) it wasn't too bad

And the more I watch Matt Smith the more I like him as the Doctor

[RitaLittlewood]

He is good. It's a shame really they put it against BGT so execs won't know if falling ratings are because of him or BGT. They also need a fixed time instead of moving like ITV used to with Harry Hill.

Patsy

[Nick]

Gonna record it tonight and we'll watch it tomorrow...full verdict then

[Deleted]

Loved this week's episode - one of the most enjoyable yet - so nice to have a 'small' story for a change, and thought James Corden and Daisy Haggard were great in it.

This from the Guardian...

'Doctor Who: The Lodger – Series 31, episode 11 - No CGI monster, no historical figures and it features James Corden – but The Lodger is one of the year's strongest episodes.

For its next trick, Doctor Who does Spaced. Or Men Behaving Badly. Or This Life. Or any other flatshare drama you care to mention. And with a small cast, no CGI turkey monster and not even a single historical figure, it delivers one of the strongest episodes of the year. It made being back on modern-day Earth feel like a treat.

Long-time Doctor Who writer Gareth Roberts adapted The Lodger from his Doctor Who Magazine comic strip, and it weeps with wit and affection. The story itself is simple: in order to get to the bottom of what's happening in Aickman Road, the Doctor has to pass himself off as human – which turns out to be surprisingly challenging. The Doctor doesn't twig that three grand in cash is a lot of money. He mistakes pub league for a drinking competition and thinks football is "the one with the sticks", although he also turns out to be brilliant at it. He looks for the on switch for a normal, non-sonic screwdriver. He delights in taking over Craig's call centre job for the day. He talks blithely with the cat.

All of this might have come easily to Touchy Feely Tennant, but Matt Smith's weirdo Doctor really comes into his own this week – he's never looked more alien. But the episode does also raise a few questions, given that the Doctor has previously been adept at posing as a human and has already got a ready-made alias of John Smith. So why not use that? Did the John-Smith-made-real during the events of The Family Of Blood die at the end of that story? Is it too painful for The Doctor to use that identity knowing what he did to Nurse Redfern? Or is it just funny to have a football field of onlookers cheering "Doctor!" as he shoots and scores? (Also, I'm pretty sure that the song he sings in the bath is the same one John Pertwee sang in the shower in Spearhead From Space.)

Meanwhile, James Corden proves that during his time off from being a celebrity irritant, he's still a damn fine actor. He brings real warmth to Craig the everybloke, and the love story is beautifully played. Better still, his appearance turns out not to be a tagged-on subplot but a vital thread –it was them admitting that they loved each other that eventually saved the day. From now on, my flatmate and I are going to use the Doctor's manic yell of "I wasn't expecting that!" whenever either of us need the place to ourselves.

The odd-couple scenario doesn't allow Amy much to do this week, stuck in a temporal loop and trying to work the Tardis controls by herself. As we suspected, she finds the engagement ring Rory gave her and knows that something is wrong. This is the final cliffhanger before the finale, so nothing will be an accident. The crack widened as she opened up the gift box. Could it be that the ring is, in fact, the Pandorica?

Timey trivia
This episode might well have just been an excuse to let Matt Smith show off his footballing prowess. He had trials to become a pro before an injury led him into acting.

Next week!
It's the big one, as the Pandorica opens and all hell breaks loose in the first half of the two-part season finale. There have loose ends, paper trails and red herrings scattered all the way so expect some big answers. All Karen Gillan would tell us about the finale was "horses". All Piers Wenger would add was "helmets".'

[sootycat]

Loved it.

I also thought Matt was pretty nifty with a football.....send him to South Africa. ;D

[Nick]

Yes very good...it was good to have an 'ordinary' story...not quite sure who was upstairs and why they were there tho...but good nontheless

and I must say I was surprised by James Corden..he usually irritates the hell out of me

And I think I'm developing a crush on the Doc lol

[RitaLittlewood]

I think Matt Smith is great. This was clever and of course, Gareth Roberts also has a long history writing for it during the hiatus, unlike RTD, so knows how stories should be constructed.

Patsy

[Nick]

Well I have got to be honest...I have absolutley no idea what all of that was about !!

I think they are flogging the Daleks to death..they used to be a treat every few years or so..now they seem to appear as often as the Doc lol