h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

off Jimster, you can't see crap Dr Who writing if it slapped you. Thank God for Steven Moffat

Sorry that should be STILL can't see crap Dr Who writing if it slapped you

the two men in the booth button thing was explained to the master not the doctor yet the doc explianed it to wilf as if he knew by magic

I'm gonna put that one down as building up to the final episode. It's basically put a lot of plot points in place and raised expectations... we'll be seeing an explanation of the four beats, the return of the Time Lords (and an explanation of the Time War?), a conclusion to Donna's arc, the death of the Doctor... or I shall be a very disappointed bunny on 1st Jan.

As to how the episode stood up on its own... well, it's not meant to, is it? You don't judge Caves of Androzani or Genesis of the Daleks on the basis of the first episode. This is the first time they've had a 'part one' in the New Series. So yes, it was more Dead Planet than Waters of Mars (and yes, the aliens were ), but I'll cut it some slack until New Year.

Gif

I didn't like how the Master was a superhero yet he was also falling apart. And the potions thing was rubbish, should have done something else with the wife and had her more integral, Doctor trying to save her or something, not sure.

However, it was interesting. You can't judge it on its own because it is all about set-up, and I admit that it won't mean very much at all to non-fans, but it wasn't . I too am reserving full judgement until New Year because I want to see where they go with it and how they bring the Time Lords back.

Having said that, I'm also glad RTD's leaving and Moffat's taking over. There have been enough theatrics under RTD, and all I can think of right now is a massive Deux Ex Machina spanning the past 4 series and beyond that means that the Time Lords are all fine, as are the Daleks (of course!), and when Moffat comes back it'll be like RTD had never been here. I'm almost willing to bet that the whole of the human race will forget about aliens too, go back to it all being hush-hush like before. Still, I am looking forward to seeing it. I liked the twist about what the 4 drum beats are in the preview spoiler for the next episode and I reckon that'll have something to do with the Time Lords return.

And whatever people say about RTD he's still the one who brought the show back, even if his writing leaves something to be desired sometimes.

Very contradictory I know. Here's a question for everyone though. Was it not what you expected?
I think it was everything I expected.

Lovely... Doctor Who fans disagreeing... what a shock! lol

Seriously though best piece of Doctor Who since it returned. And I've seen pretty much all of it - except those tragically lost episodes of the Hartnell and Troughton eras.

Looking forward to the Matt Smith era, not with-standing, I'm surprised RTD came up with that... in fact his last two offerings have been superb.

And with a regeneration to follow, I can only perceive that the last episode will be something of a "master"-piece. Gotta love the master stories. Well I do... but then I am the mas.......

Watched it on iplayer when I got in from work last night . Very disjointed and difficult to follow . Why oh why did they have simms as the master ? Derick Jacobi did it brilliantly last time , real menace ie. proper acting . Maybe it will all come good in part 2 .

Did you miss the three episodes where Simm played the Master previously?

Woke up this morning with this thought in my mind:

When Wilf says to the Doctor - 'why can't you just go back to yesterday or something get there before he arrives?'

and the Dr says something like - I can't travel back along my own time line.

I'm just putting down a marker that that's a rule I expect to be broken.

I mean why provoke it's mention?

Since we've already got the spectacle of The Master burning the candle at both ends as it were, and the prospects of the time war that wasn't, it seems we might be heading into that territory where the sorts of thigns you should never do will be done three time before breakfast.

Speaking of breakfast....

Just thought I'd share that working of my dreaming brain.

Reefgirl wrote:

"you can't see crap Dr Who writing if it slapped you. Thank God for Steven Moffat"

Well, I just disagree with you about it being crap Who writing, that's all. I don't believe it was even close to being crap Who writing. It wasn't 'The Twin Dilemma', 'Attack of the Cybermen', 'Underworld' or 'The Space Pirates'. I suspect a lot of people watching this have suffered from anticipointment - the build-up to the episode has led to some people looking forward to not enjoying it.

I really enjoyed this one, although I was uncertain about the idea of everyone becoming John Simm because it just screams of another reset button further along the line. Loved Cribbins though, and I agree that the cafe scene was the standout moment.

>>Did you miss the three episodes where Simm played the Master previously<<
Well no I was thinking last Christmas . I still say Jacobi has the gravitas to do the job properly .

It was a bit pants. Started as Harry Potter, turned in to a dodgy comic book (did nobody at any point mention to RTD that a sparking, flying Master would look ridiculous? If not, why not and, if so, why didn't he listen?) and was redeemed only by the last 30 seconds.

Gallifrey!!!!

The second part had better be bloody brilliant, and The Doctor had better save the day this time rather than one of the bleedin' assistants.

I wonder if George Lucas wants his set back?

>>anticipointment - the build-up to the episode has led to some people looking forward to not enjoying it.<<

That's a great word: I will probably steal it and claim it as my own.

I think my biggest problem with the episode is that it was too big: I'd love to see a smaller finale, more personal and more intimate. RTD has done some fantastic blockbuster endings (Doomsday and Journey's End imo) but I'd have loved to have seen something more subtle, where the world isn't in peril. Something that doesn't have to be solved by a Gallifrey ex machina.

Well, I'll add our voices to the We Thought It Was Rubbish camp. It wasn't funny and it wasn't scary, it was just very silly.

Using potions to bring back the Master reminded me of Voldemort in the graveyard in Goblet of Fire.

The Master crouching down and gobbling and wittering madly reminded me (and apparently others too) of Gollum.

All the Masters on the balconies of the flats reminded me of that stupid advert for French perfume from about 20 years ago.

We didn't really get the feeling that *anybody* was in peril, and everybody turning into John Simm wasn't, I'm afraid, remotely scary. And nowadays whenever I see Timothy Dalton I'm distracted by trying to work out how they got the steeple to look like it had pierced his chin in Hot Fuzz.

Some points for Bernard Cribbins, June Whitfield, and Catherine Tate, but as the score for the rest of it was in minus numbers that still doesn't bring it up overall to a level of nul points.

But it was a blinder of an episode of Confidential afterwards. It's come to something when the programme about how they made the episode is considerably better than the episode itself.

Other part ones of two parters have been much, much better. I'll just have to trust DT when he said it was a brilliant final story.

Mol

There were a couple of moments when I thought, 'Bloody hell, this is like the 80s stuff.'

That's not a good thing.

Still,

GALLIFREY!

the only thing missing from last nights episode was brian blessed saying "the time lords are alive????"

At least there was no Bonnie Langford. I did fear a couple of times that she might pop and screech irksomely at us.

>I did fear a couple of times that she might pop<

Now *that* would been a result!

One word: Gallifrey

"Very contradictory I know. Here's a question for everyone though. Was it not what you expected?"

Nothing like I imagined the big ending would be. Perhaps after the darkness at the end of TWatoMars and trailers I did. But when they announced four specials last year, I would never have expected a Christmas Day special to look anything like this. Especially not in primetime.

Apart from really not understanding any of it ... it just seemed a big departure from everything we've seen over the past few years. Now that's contradictory to some of my previous "it's all getting predictable" comments but actually I found the scenes with Donna/Wilf (even her harridan mother) the bits I liked.


Alternative question ... just watching the Confidential ... are these TV for TV's sake? Just filling up the digital channels.

Speaking of Timmy D - someone should have lent him a bib. He spat more during the 15 seconds he was on screen than my daughter did during the whole of Christmas Day. And she's eight. Months.

Perhaps Time Lords have twice as many salivary glands as humans?

Gif