Doctor Who: The Bells of Saint John

No thread on the new Who?

Not sure yet if I like the new theme. And this episode was really quirky, more so than Moffat's usual stuff. But it was still enjoyable and I really like Clara.

Also looking forward to the 50th anniversary special this season, which features Tennant and Smith together!

I liked it, and her, though I got confused at times since my ears are not yet tuned to her particular butchering of the English language.

Kingston is apparently credited in one episode to come.

Kingston is a recurring character for a while, from what I've heard about her contract.

Mm. Clara pretty. Doctor goofy. Show fun.

I could do without seeing River again.

Speak for yourself.

He did!

I agree. It was a somewhat interesting storyline but it's time to move on.

Unrelated interesting fact:

Other than the 1963 pilot episode, this is the first time the telephone on the TARDIS has actually rung.

I'm pretty sure it rang for Ecclestone once, didn't it?

In The Empty Child - also written by Stephen Moffat.

Well, that wasn't too shabby. The Doctor in full I'm-bearing-the-weight-of-the-universe!!! mode is always very welcome. Also, nice take on the alien market thing. Well done episode.

Can't say I can still follow Smith-Doc's metastory, however. Whatthewhatnow?! Was that Rory in the preview for next episode? Thought they were something like dead here, alive in the next universe whatever? Anyway, don't ask unless you're a big fan of headaches.

Yet another trippy episode. Very creative. This is shaping up to be an interesting half-season.

My wife and our little one just discovered Dr. Who on Netflix. They've been watching it quite a bit in the last week or so. I think the ones they are watching now are from 2005.

I just finished watching the revived series a month ago (my first exposure to Doctor Who). It was hard watching the superb Tennant seasons knowing he had already left. I like Matt Smith (as well as his companions so far) but David Tennant was such an amazing Doctor that I still haven't adjusted to Smiths ... different ... portrayal.

The past two episodes have felt very weird to me. I can't figure out why; the stories feel maybe a bit stranger than normal. Though, for Doctor Who I'm not sure that's saying much. Also, it seems like they cut the budget somewhat (some of the sets, props and effects seem cheaper) - maybe they spent too much on the new TARDIS set or are saving £ for the 50th anniversary show...

I really did NOT like the Tennant episodes and, while I'm not the only one, it appears that I'm in the minority. To me, "Doctor Who" isn't running around manically and solving everything by waving a sonic screwdriver at it and then falling in love with your companion.

Having Moffat running the show has really opened my eyes to how complex a time travel series can be, but even without that, it is apparent how little Davies got it. I mean, fixing a cell phone so that you can call home from any time and place? How's that work? What do you do if you come back a minute after you left? How do you explain the weird phone calls your Mom is going to get for the next couple years? What do you do if you call yourself while you happen to be standing right there?

When push comes to shove, David Tennant is hands down the best Doctor of the modern era. Even when Davies fucked up the stories a bit, it was Tennant's brilliant portrayal of the Doctor that was truly magnificent. I liked Eccleston and I do like Matt Smith, but Tennant rates right up there with Tom Baker as the Best Doctor ever.

Not without precedent. The second doctor fixes the Brigadier's radio so he can call his troops outside of the Tardis' force field in "The Three Doctors".

We don't what range it had, but it does show some continuity. Maybe by the time the 9th doctor arrived he was able to enhance the technique further with his "jiggery-pokery". If they "invented black holes", then why would this be so out of the ordinary? /shrug

Loved the first episode, the second... Meh.

Felt like someone had reheated The Satan Pit. Smith's acting was top notch, and what started as a potentially interesting episode faded into Emotional Plot Weapon, which was pretty crap when it cured him from Gollumness several seasons ago and was just cringeworthy during Victory of the Daleks too.

See what next week brings!

I think I might have liked the second episode a bit more than the first, but the pacing on the second one was definitely smoother.

I liked tonight's episode more than pretty much any other episode of the revived series.

It was paced more like a Pertwee era episode.

Eleven was very much like the Second Doctor in manner tonight..very interesting to watch and notice those touches if you've seen classic Who eps.

First episode in forever that actually "felt" like Doctor Who.

Cold War was quite good, but again was something of a copy of an earlier story - Horror of Fang Rock.

Very enjoyable though.

Yeah, during the big looking-up-and-yelling bit, I found myself thinking about how the Second or Third Doctor's actors might have played it, and deciding that it wouldn't have been much different. I guess it really was giving off that sort of vibe . . . especially since I haven't seen that much of the Second Doctor.

Matt Smith was not being playful at all for, like, half the episode. (And I liked the result.) Do you think that was just a decision regarding the mood they wanted for this particular episode? Or might they tone that characteristic down for the foreseeable future? After all, it was more thematically appropriate with Amy than with Clara, who seems to be, as best as my poor judgement can tell, a little more grounded/practical (and perplexing) than Amy was at first. Or at least, less defined by her sense of wonderment and adventure than Amy was.

Also, when Clara couldn't get the TARDIS open, KJ leaned over to me and whispered that the TARDIS doesn't like impossible things (remember the second Amy in "The Girl Who Waited") . . . so there's a little subtle hint, I guess, that Clara may yet turn out to be a nasty knot in spacetime.

^^^ I think Tamar was referring to the "Cold War" episode.

You say that as if it's a slap against new Who.

I like the new (post-2005) Doctor Who.

I also happen to like the "old" Doctor Who. But, unlike many fanboys on this very board who still pine for the 1960s era Star Trek, I realize that "old" Doctor Who was a product of its time. Doesn't make it any less enjoyable but I don't want to see that particular brand of Who back on the airwaves. It's time has come and gone.

From what I've read, the costume change from the tweed sportcoat to the purple frock coat is supposed to signify this Doctor has matured a bit so I'd say yes.

I was, but he's right.

This season it seems like the Doctor is older and more elements of his past incarnations seem to be popping up.

Though, Matt Smith has used many of Troughton's mannerisms from day one. Particularly how he uses his hands and his occasional beginnings of panic attack moments...he's mere moments from a "my giddy aunt" at times!