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

How about this for a big idea - have we entered a pocket universe ala Donnie Darko?

The future Doctor knows this - he's just been having fun for the last while rather than defending the universe - because he knows that it really doesn't matter. He also knows that there is a certain chain of events that has to occur in order to make this reality collapse in on itself, and normal reality to be resumed. One of those events is his death, but he can die safe in the knowledge that once this reality collapses he will be restored in the normal timeline.

Of course, we won't find out who is in THAT suit until the last episode of the series this Autumn. Though I'm sure it's the Doctor.

I would have thought the whoever it is that River kills, it's in the 51st century, as that is when she is imprisoned for the crime.


Geggs

Hi Geggs,

Hmm, nice thinking...

Gif

...could we even be in for a religious metaphor, Doctor's sacrifice saves the world, River is his 'Judas', the loyal disciple who has to betray him so that he can complete his plan?

Gif

I suspect that the low opening figures was due to the early time slot of 6pm combined with ITV actually showing something for a family audience (the annoyingly good 'March of the Dinosaurs') which began at 5pm.

<BB<

Along with a beautiful sunny weekend. I was out playing golf and had to watch on iPlayer.

I have to admit, I assumed the spacesuit was holding a gun that I didn't catch sight of. It certainly _seemed_ like gunshots.

But wasn't there a green flash when the shots went off? I assumed that there was something alien about The Astronaut because of the green flashes, the fact it appeared and disappeared from/into the water like that and the fact that River's gun had no effect on it.

Yep, definitely a green flash. Not sure what that means yet. We shall see.


Geggs

“Let’s see if anyone tries to kill us and work backwards.”

I thought that was the best line – a perfect summation of the plot with a bucket full of dramatic irony.

I can't wait for part #2....

I'm glad they're only doing 6 episodes then taking the summer off before the next batch. It's going to take me that long to digest everything that just happened. God knows what the casual viewer would have made of it.

Nod (14) said that the episode was 'beyond confusing'.

I only saw the last 20 minutes of it, and still haven't seen last week's. So I was assuming that was why none of it made sense. Apparently not.

Mol

got it

the silents protected the earth from all other nasty aliens, the silents fell and so it falls to the doctor to become protector of earth

another story working backwards

as to the regen of a female time lord, the doctor still had a daughter/clone out there some where/when

Mind=blown.

That was unbelievable and totally unexpected from start to finish. I really didn't expect them to boot the Silents off Earth like that, though wasn't that tantamount to genocide? The Silents were exceedingly well done - as a 26 year old bloke I found myself hiding behind my knees during the scene in the childrens home.

The Amy/Rory/Doctor triangle was brutal to Rory this week - I'm not convinced Amy was calling Rory over the communicator. The revelation that Rory can remember his time as a plastic Roman was poignant and gives Rory quite a bit of gravitas - he can remember more years than the Doctor (in fact over twice as many) and I hope they build on that rather than just having it as a throwaway line.

I may start having a section called River's Raves in my reviews, she's just an absurdly awesome character. Diving into the TARDIS swimming pool may have just been the wrong side of cheesy but it was a funny visual and harks back to Rivers entrance in the Time of Angels, the shoot-out was superb but again seemed slightly out of character for the Doctor to allow it to happen. The realisation that River has had her last kiss with the Doctor was an absolute killer. She's close to her end. The Doctors reaction to it was wonderful.

And then there was the real killer: a Timelord or part-Timelord kid. Just to keep things interesting obviously.

About 35 minutes of incomprehensibility ... during that time I picked up something about "it's like a posthypnotic suggestion that gets people to do what the Silents want after they forget them" ... hence the footage during the Moon landings leading to a revolt to kill them ...

Other than that ... didn't understand the dwarf star prison ... didn't understand how they got out of last week's factory (perhaps to be explained later) ...

Possibly didn't understand much because I couldn't follow the dialogue ... possibly because the music / sound effects was a fraction too bad ... possibly because of all the rapid cuts between scenes.

Part of me likes the direction Moffat is taking the series in multiple story arcs (across seasons) ... the love triangle between Rory, Amy, The Doctor ...

But overall I think ratings will be falling further ... I just can't see that going down with the masses despite the fact that it had potential to be one of the scariest episodes and therefore very appealing ...

I really enjoyed it, but didn't understand a great deal. To be honest I just thought I'd enjoy the ride then go back and watch it again in a few days, when I've read and absorbed the comments made here. I did that earlier today with last week's episode and definitely got more out of the second viewing.

So I'm hanging here waiting for some insights!

Deb

Putting aside my pet theories on what just happened.

I'm loving what Moffat has done and is doing overall.
From the end of this darker two parter the pay-off from marriage being crime brought to mind an episode of DS9 where Sisko is uncomfortable with joining his officers for an adventure in Quarks holosuite. One set in pre-civil rights, casually racist and segregated period of America's history in which such political complexities have been whitewashed over in keeping with entertaining humans from a time when such backwards ways are those of other species and cultures.
I like it when escapism acknowledges harsher realities.

Consensus in Chez Ostrich was it was confusing - and a bit of a let down from last week stellar opening. Keeping up with the what-was-happening-to-who-when was what got us most confused. What worked well for introducing Canton III last week just left everyone here going 'hang on....what?'



Looking forward to finding out about:

That hatch in the orphanage door - I might be mistaken but was that Miranda Richardson sporting an eyepatch? I thought I recognised the actress. "no I think she's just dreaming"

"The child. she must be cared for. it's important.That's what they said." - and a time lord regeneration to boot (which was just fantastic and creepy! Alleyways remind me of VII regeneration to VIII) - wonder if that's got any connection to River's crytpic comment stood over Old Dr's body about what people would do for a cell of a time lord's body - perhaps The Silence have one of their own... and why was it six months later that she finally expired?

Much to ponder upon....

Another timelord would explain that TARDIS wannabe.

My first thought about the child's regeneration was that it's a future incarnation of the Doctor. That would also go with my very initial thought back in episode 1 that the Doctor is the astronaut.

Is "The Doctor's Daughter" forgotten and written off as a crap episode, or will we be seeing her again? After all there's more than a few of his cells involved there wandering around the universe ...

Isn't it established that the Doctor would be able to sense any other Timelords? That makes me think the kid isn't a Timelord which in turn makes me lean towards it being Amy and Rory's child.

Also River said the traces from the spacesuit identified as human, but a very strong human. Again, that seems to rule out Timelord.

Timelord-infused-super-human!

Hereafter to be referred to as T.I.S.H