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

IMO it found its feet in the restaurant scene. Up to that point, teh Doctor was unhinged and not really himself, so this was the first scene where we really saw what he is like, and got some good banter going with Clara.
That scene also featured some good camera stuff. It seemed to me a rather heavily *directed* episode, with the camera doing interesting things in several scenes like extreme close-ups of Clara's sweat-dewed face during a tense scene, or the (often irritating) camera-shake when the Doctor first comes out of the Tardis, to give a sense of his chaotic state of mind. Props to Ben Wheatley there.
I'm not sure how keen I am on that final twist scene though, with the woman. I suppose we shall see more about that in future episodes.

I enjoyed it. I don't need to understand everything that's going on, I have such a bad memory that if anything doesn't make sense I just assume it's because I've forgotten something* and carry on watching. So I'm probably easily pleased.

I did like Clara's indecision and the way it was resolved (being vague for the sake of those who haven't watched it yet).

Oh, and the preview of next week...my gut reaction was Really? Again?

Deb

* wind-up robots! I knew I was supposed to understand the references but I just couldn't get it! Thanks Mol.

One thing I noticed was the way that Peter Capaldi's previous appearance in the Fires of Pompeii is being referenced.

He talked to the tramp about his new appearance and said "I've seen that face before...Why did I choose this face? It's like I'm trying to tell myself something...", so perhaps there are hints of something ahead. I loved that whole scene actually, that's where the episode took off as far as I'm concerned.

Also I recognised that the final scene with Michelle Gomez and the Half-Face Man in "The Promised Land - Paradise" was filmed at the Pompeian garden at Dyffryn Gardens in Wales. (Well worth a visit if you're in the area, different parts have been used as a location over the years, in Torchwood too: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/dyffryn-gardens/http://www.doctorwholocations.net/locations/dyffryngardens )

According to the Radio Times summaries of the series, one of the guest stars in episodes 11 and 12 is Chris Addison. That's something to look forward to!

The title of episode 5 does sound quite promising.

I was more impressed with Saturday's 2nd episode than the first. I particularly enjoyed the face slap.

I'm intrigued by the "Welcome to Heaven" continuing theme for those killed off, it immediately takes the sting out of the horrific death, and the thought of and being served to me sounds like a Heaven I'm going to like.



GB

I wasn't looking forward to the episode as I'm so heartily sick of the daleks, but actually I quite enjoyed it. I'm slightly confused about Mr Pink as there seemed to be two of him doing different things, it felt a bit...quantum, sliding doors, trouser legs of time, whatever. But maybe that was just me missing something, a highly likely scenario.

But I did enjoy it.

Deb

Yes, it is good to know you no longer have to choose between cake and death, but can have both.

I enjoyed the episode, as per usual. I think the Doctor we saw here is more like the one we are going to see from now on than last week's. I am not sure I like him, but that could be a good thing.

I look forward to seeing more about the mysterious woman, who presumably is repairing the cyborg and transmating the soldier, or saving them in a computer system the way that River Song was, rather than actual resurrection. It normally takes a couple of episodes for the Doctor to settle down, but yes, I enjoyed the episode more than I expected, a journey to the centre of a dalek coming so soon after 'Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS'. As long as we don't get a 'Journey to the Centre of a Cyberman' next series.

'Robot of Sherwood' sounds a good title - just a shame they couldn't get Alan Rickman to be the sherrif!

<BB<

The mysterious woman played by Michelle Gomez is giving more than just "Welcome to Heaven", I think she's giving each character whatever they hope for from an afterlife.

In episode 1 the Half-Faced man was welcomed to "The Promised Land - Paradise", filmed, as I recognised, in the Pompeian garden at Dyffryn. This week was tea and cake in "Heaven" also filmed at Dyffryn, in the Morning room. (Look closely at the wallpaper - when I visited we were told the BBC put it up especially for the episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures filmed there.)

Daleks I can stand, it was Cybermen that had me hiding behind the sofa as a child!

There is no doubt in my mind that Missy will turn out to be a villain/enemy of the Doctor of some kind. Beyond that... I dunno. My guess is that "Heaven/Paradise" is not a real place, but some kind of virtual space, either artificially created or otherwise outside the normal fabric of the universe. That makes it more plausible that people can be transferred there psychically from a variety of places and times. Note that the clockwork guy's corpse was seen impaled in Victorian London, so he was not physically teleported.

Steven Moffat's dropped some hints in his Episode Guide from last week's Radio Times, it's going to be episodes 11 and 12 where we finally find out. I won't quote here, but I'm sure it's online for the curious.

For some reason, all of these first three episodes haven't really taken flight, for me. They are all decent, and have great *moments*, but the whole just isn't... *carrying* me.

I'm having trouble putting it into words, but this Doctor seems somehow to be in the wrong show. The stories and his personality are not quite synching. He's too acerbic - not just mock grumpy, but genuinely grumpy - and they are too bright. I'm willing to hope, though, that they work out the kinks, given time.

Mild Spoilers:




Well, I really enjoyed that. The costumes were bobbins and the action climax was awful but overall it was silly, camp and entertaining and that's all it needed to be. Robin Hood was played reasonably straight (source material wise) rather than being twisted or subverted or grimdark'd as is the trend these days, and the Doctor spending the episode looking for the big reveal and it simply not happening was a good twist. Plus the photo of Patrick Troughton as Robin Hood was the ultimate Who meta.

Oh yeah, and a couple of other things:
1. Nice to see Clara being clever and gutsy. That's twice in three episodes she's reversed an interrogation and uncovered vital information for herself, without help from the Doctor.
2. Is it just me, or is the body-count pretty high in this series? All three eps so far have had minor characters introduced and then cut down. Perhaps that will become a thing in the big reveal at the end...

I haven't warmed to the new doctor yet, but I'm still grumpy that Matt left - he's been my favourite doctor of "new who", which was a surprise as I didn't think anyone would usurp Christopher Ecclestone.

Next week looks legs up on the sofa, cushion in front of the face scary

Deb

I really liked this week - just the right amount of camp and comedy... I'm not surprised people haven't warmed to the new doctor yet - it seems that these first episodes are all about him finding out for himself what he's like and whether he likes himself, so it's virtually impossible for us to figure out what he's like when he doesn't know for himself.

Story arc is developing nicely, but is a bit 'in-your-face' when compared to the subtility of 'bad wolf'. Lots of unanswered questions about the strange woman in 'heaven' and 'the promised land'...

Agree about next week - definitely a 'behind the sofa' episode.

Well, that was nowhere near as scary as expected.

I'm not sure I enjoyed it all that much. I'm probably missing something really obvious but to me it didn't even really make much sense. I was willing to accept the existence of whatever was under the blanket but that seemed to be negated by what Clara said at the end. And how could she have left him with the soldier, wouldn't that create some kind of paradox or something? Even with my "some things just have to be taken on trust" attitude to watching, it didn't seem to hang together.

I haven't warmed much to Capaldi yet. He just seems bad tempered.

Deb

I just caught 'mild spoilers' in an above comment and scrolled quickly avoiding them.

I don't mind either way but if this is a thread that has spoilers, even mild ones and that is the norm, then I'll unsub, would just like to know

Did appreciate whoever it was putting mild spoilers and all, but it means I can't follow the thread