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

Really? I thought it was great. Admittedly, I suppose I could have been more blown away than I was, given the subject matter. I always enjoy episodes in any sci-fi/fantasy/'speculative fiction' series where they play with the premise or take it down, twist it a bit and look at it from another angle. Those were the best episodes of 'Life on Mars', for instance.

Not entirely cool with this episode:

1. 'Sweetville' seems to me to be a clear reference to the Quaker village of Bournville, founded by the Cadbury sweet manufacturers, although that is near Birmingham, and only Londoners think that's "the North". I have a deal of respect for the Bournville Quaker ethos though, and I'm not comfortable with it being treated in this way.
2. The threat in this episode never felt convincing to me. More than ever in the past, it felt to me as if the Doctor had a solution, and I was just waiting to see what it was. I always assumed that it would be one of those "Oh, your getaway car? I removed the spark-plugs. See, they're right here" kind of plot conclusions. And yes, it more-or-less was.
3. Jenna-Louise Coleman has a certain cock of the eyebrow that is occasionally on a par with the best "come-to-bed eyes" of any actress I know. This might seem like a (very) good thing, but it makes me feel traitorous to the lovely Karen Gillan. Imagine if she were to turn up and see me being so disloyal? It might even reduce my rapturous joy at her divine presence to mere heartwarming delight...

I really enjoyed it. It was silly (although the Thomas Thomas joke almost pushed that too far) and fun, but I found the pacing a bit frenetic for my liking. I think I agree, Bob, the threat never felt quite real, and for me that was because the fear wasn't really allowed to grow properly.

I know what you mean about Sweetville though. That rubbed a bit.

I had no objection to the 'north' aspect of the plot - the Rowntree family's chocolate factory was originally based in York, which most people would consider counts as being north (even though they were not on the same scale as Bourneville by any means, they still offered their employees free health care, pensions etc.).

A purpose-built town with a secret, sinister aim in mind for the inhabitants is a legitimate plot (even though in truth Bourneville was founded on very progressive Quaker principles and the Rowntrees themselves were instrumental in investigating poverty and campaigning for cost-of-living wages).

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I am increasingly of the opinion that the Question is "Why?" and that if Mofat doesn't get his act together the silence will fall. It seems the show has become a comedy.

Did anyone else think "Frying Tonight" at the appropriate juncture?

I can forgive them the Sweetville joke, although in slightly bad taste. I rather thought that Sweetville was more like Letchworth.

Also, if they were going to put Kevin Eldon in an episode of Doctor Who, I would have hoped that they would make better use of him than this.

I enjoyed that episode. Always good to see Madame Vadra, Jenny and Strax back and I may be in the minority but the Tom Tom joke had us in hysterics in my household.

Oh, Tom Tom! I get it now!
I'm still unenthused by Madame Vastra and Jenny. I feel like there must have been an episode I missed, in which the audience got to know them and develop some affection for them that I simply don't share. They're entertaining enough I suppose, and have some good lines every now and then, but they have a habit of appearing with the kind of fanfare that reminds me of "APPLAUSE" prompts to studio audiences for TV sitcoms..

I still want to know how Strax came back from the dead - or is he a clone of himself?

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I must admit to being annoyed that un-formaldehyding the Doctor is apparently yet another thing the sonic screwdriver can do. It's too easy.

Well, that didn't uproot as many trees as the last Neil Gaiman episode, but it was still very good. I always say that you can tell who are the really good actors by the fact that they get given storylines that involve them playing multiple personalities or alternative personalities. They did it several times in Red Dwarf, and it was always Chris Barrie.

I thoroughly enjoyed that one. When I saw the kids had tagged along I thought it was just going to be a silly, fun episode but no, proper good. I loved the interplay between the Doctor & his cyber-alter-ego, he was quite chilling.

Deb

Suddenly I felt like the series was back on track. It was properly creepy in some parts and I really enjoyed it. I like a lot of the silly episodes too, but this was better.

My only niggle? Implode =/= Explode. It's a very important distinction. And it would have prevented showering the rest of the universe with bits of blown up Cybermen. Neil Gaiman chose that word very precisely, I'd imagine, and he is probably quite miffed.

Another thing I liked was that the kids were genuinely vulnerable and uncertain. A lot of kids these days are portrayed as sassy, hard-nosed and generally able to take care of themselves unless something really exceptional comes along. They don't often get scared of the dark, like real kids.

Just when I was in the mood to hate the whole series I have to grudgingly admit that I enjoyed the cybermen - at little too Borg like at times, but the compensation was the casting, the Story (there really was a story at last) and the beautiful bleakness of some of the lines.

Best bit - the second time Clara slapped the Dr.

What's with all this hype about the Doctor's Name? "Finally revealed..." "The Doctor's greatest secret..." etc etc. Has anybody, ever, sat watching Dr Who thinking "Oooh, I wonder what his real name is."?

His name is "The" and he'll sing "Talking About My Regeneration"

I am going for 'Donald'. Or, possibly, 'Aloyisius'.

I just don't see how any reveal of a name can be anything but a disappointment. It'll either be meaningless, because it's a name we've never heard before, or it'll be something that relates past Who stuff, eg John-Boy Rassilon Jr. which will only be of interest to the really obsessive fans.

The episode reminded me a bit of the Butlerian Jihad in 'Dune'.

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