[MunchWolf]

I feel that is also the set up ... the Doctor will be wiping himself from history ... even maybe to the point that Amy/Rory forget him ... and that is where the question comes from ...

-Munch "I was a bit disturbed that the doctor outright killed someone in the second ep ... even if he was bad" Wolf

[salem]

Looking forward to the Weeping Angels in episode 5!

[salem]

Ah Karen Gillan, best thing to come out of Scotland since Irn-Bru!

Shame she's leaving soon. Will miss those incredible legs!

[number3fac]

I feel that is also the set up ... the Doctor will be wiping himself from history ... even maybe to the point that Amy/Rory forget him ... and that is where the question comes from ...

-Munch "I was a bit disturbed that the doctor outright killed someone in the second ep ... even if he was bad" Wolf

It seems to me that he's already been reduced/removed from history; the Daleks know him forever of course, and now they've been selectively mindwiped of him.  For everyone else, he's presumably dead-and-gone-and-forgotten from the fakeout at the end of last season (even though so much of that makes no sense...but that's what Moffat's given us).  But between the first two episodes, and the recent one with the townspeople and cyborg looking for an "alien doctor" and briefly thinking the Doctor is him until it turns out to be a mix-up with some guy with a tattoo (and a name), it's being set up that only those closest to the Doctor (his former companions, but also Amy and Rory, who are the only two that know he's still alive) will know who he is.  However, it looks like there is an acknowledgement that the Doctor is even drifting away from them...as I noted, he kept dropping Amy and Rory off over and over again during season 6, and they only occasionally get together even now so that the Doctor's spent lots of time on his own and getting further disconnected from them.  Presumably that'll lead to the Ponds' exit (coming soon, if casting info is right) and a fresh start with a new companion who may be the one that eventually asks him the Question.  On the plus side, the theme of the Doctor's separation from "the spotlight" and the upcoming Question haven't been dropped on our heads like anvils in the same way as the ongoing plot threads of the previous 2 seasons.

Anyway, I liked this last episode; some nice ethical/moral dilemmas being faced by the Doctor, the other doctor, and the cyborg, with the companions and townspeople providing some perspective and backdrop.  The part about the war-machine becoming a protector was a bit much at the end, but it may be a kind of clunky parallel with the ultra-crazy-Dalek friend from the Asylum episode.  I have to wonder if that'll be some sort of overarching theme among some characters we'll see this season, or if it's just a coincidence.

[MunchWolf]

The ponds are supposed to leave in two eps ... then there is the xmas ep which brings in the new companion .. who is the same actress as the crazy dalek ...

-Munch "unknown if same character" Wolf

[rtpoe]

I'm still going to treat the question "Doctor Who?" as a meta-question.

From the very beginning, "An Unearthly **09**", we never really knew exactly who the Doctor was. Yes, he's a Time Lord; yes, he went off into exile (presumably voluntarily); yes, he was chosen to be their President... But what is his real role in Gallifreyan history? It's never been made clear. Not in the show, not in the books, not in the audio dramas. That is the fundamental mystery of the series.

And if it ever gets answered, much of the magic will be gone... the Silence will fall...

[number3fac]

I remember reading something that, back in classic-era Who, someone (the showrunner, a writer...I don't remember the details there) had a "master plan" with the Seventh Doctor's plot-arc.  Presumably it would be revealed that he was one of the founders of Time Lord society along with Omega and Rassilon; I believe a couple of hints as to this planned story-arc were included during the final classic-era Dalek story, with the Hand of Omega.  I've read that it would have eventually also have the Doctor give Ace the option to become a Time Lord (somehow), and that his adventures with her during that last season or so were sort of "grooming" her for that possibility.

It sounded ambitious but unfortunately also incredibly convoluted, and I can't say it would've improved anything.  I do prefer the mysterious nature of the Doctor; in fact, if it's simply left at him having been an "ordinary citizen" among his fellow Time Lords, I would find that preferable.  The show (especially during the RTD era, but at most times during its entire run) has very much been about ordinary people finding inventive ways of displaying courage and heroism in the face of dangers and tyranny.  So it would be entirely appropriate for the Doctor himself to have that very same background; it won't make him an epic-super-important-Time Lord figure, but since they're all gone anyway I don't see that it would be necessary to somehow distinguish his place in their society any more.

I don't think Moffat would bother with any of that storyline anyway, but I'm still anxious about what he has planned, because while his one-off contributions to the show have been excellent, he's been markedly poor in his long-arc planning and character backstory/development.  I really hope that his resolution to this "first" "Doctor WHO?" question doesn't negatively impact or trivialize the series, is all.

[MunchWolf]

I don't think he will really answer anything.  He's great at creating drama and fluffy, but lacks substance.

-Munch "an odd reoccuring trait of his, is he likes monsters that don't kill, but instead turn you into a monster as well" Wolf

[Breasts]

Cracking episode tonight! The Power of Three. 

But noooooooo I don't want Amy and Rory to go!

[number3fac]

I don't think he will really answer anything.  He's great at creating drama and fluffy, but lacks substance.

I've been saying (elsewhere) that Moffat's work is much like cotton candy: delicious and delightful, and quite enjoyable when first experienced.  But largely insubstantial, so that it leaves you wanting...but having more just makes you sick.

For the current episode: what was the deal with the badguy's minions at the hospital?  They **70** random people, all of whom were apparently on the ship when it exploded; but since the cubes were supposed to infiltrate and then observe/collect data on people, it's not clear why there was any need for the other minions to even exist.  Except to make Rory and his dad (much as I like them) marginally relevant to the climax, though that was still mostly about the Doctor waving his sonic and reversing the damage done.  I liked seeing more of the Ponds and their lives with and without the Doctor, Rory's dad, and the new head of UNIT, so the episode was great on that account.  But the villain plot didn't make much sense, and I get the impression that we've gotten introduced to Rory's dad specifically so we can sympathize with his reaction to the Ponds' fate (whatever that is) when they're gone from the Doctor.

[MunchWolf]

I've been saying (elsewhere) that Moffat's work is much like cotton candy: delicious and delightful, and quite enjoyable when first experienced.  But largely insubstantial, so that it leaves you wanting...but having more just makes you sick.

For the current episode: what was the deal with the badguy's minions at the hospital? 

That's happened a lot on Moffat's watch.  The one that really bugged me was the Christmas Carol episode.  The family put up their relative as collateral for a loan, to be frozen and thawed out when the loan repaid ... but the relative only had a few days left to live ... where is the incentive to repay the loan? 

You can find little niggling bits like that in most of the eps, and they bug me, but like in the Christmas Carol episode, moffat brushes them off like invisible fish ... just ignore them .. it's only a *small peoples* show afterall ...

-Munch "I still want to know why the tardis blew up" Wolf

[MunchWolf]

And what about inconsitancies ... in the dinosaur ep, amy is a crack shot with a laser rifle ... and the next episode can't manage a regular handgun without accidentally shooting it randomly ....

or that they are trying to avoid Amy from being girl hostage .. so they brought in Cleopatra ... (or in this ep it was rory and his dad)

-Munch "when things make the least sense, you can tell as they rush through the action/dialog" Wolf

[number3fac]

-Munch "I still want to know why the tardis blew up" Wolf

Yes!  Thank you for noticing, no-one else has mentioned it (on other forums, which I'll rant about briefly now), it's kind of infuriating...other posters talk mainly about the various levels of characterization (which is fine too), but I'm annoyed that no one's even bothered to look at the plotlines and notice that they too are woefully problematic.  Moffat's bad enough (especially so, considering he's supposed to be running the thing), but it's notable that "Power of Three", "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship", and the season 5 Silurian 2-parter were all written by Chris Chibnall, so I'm thinking that he's not a good fit for Who at all.  He's done some decent Torchwood stuff at least.

At this point, I almost can't believe that I was stoked for Moffat to take over when I heard RTD was leaving.  Now I really want someone to take over from Moffat, hopefully while Smith is still the Doctor...he's done a fantastic job portraying whatever crazy thing Moffat's putting him through, it's not Smith's fault that Moffat's been all over the map with the characterization and plotlines.  I'd like to see someone else take the reins and really turn the Eleventh Doctor (and his adventures) into something coherent so I can properly enjoy the series again.  In the meantime...well, I'll stick with it anyway because it's still fun (on first viewing, at least) and because at the moment that's the only way I can support the show.

[madcow4]

You guys do remember that RTD put Tennant through some pretty stupid stuff too, right? Love and Monsters, Tinkerbell Jesus Mode,  Handy McHanderson, he okayed all of those. Maybe I'm being a Moffat apologist, but you can't pick and choose your evidence either.

That and I fully admit to being biased to any episodes where Dinosaurs are on a Spaceship.

[Nimrod]

First started watching Doctor Who back in the early 1980's when the Tom Baker episodes were shown on PBS in the USA. His version of the title character is still my favorite. He brought just enough gravitas to an otherwise silly somewhat sci-fi "kids" show. It was very campy and yet it worked because in typical British fashion the acting and plots had something more going on while still ignoring the cardboard sets and models on stings look of it.

With the reset of the series with a more modern production it is almost a whole new show that just happens to have characters that reference the earlier work. Very much like Star Trek but with even more departure from the previous feel and pace. We do like watching and the writing has some moments that are better by far, but as some have already said, in the move toward a more gritty and realistic Dr. Who the need to tighten up the plot holes and some of the basic logic appears to have been forgotten.

Yes, I agree that there are times you can easily see how they simply introduce a character in order to do something to move the back-story along, like Rory's Dad, Nefertiti in lieu of Amy Pond, Donna's Dad, Rose and her Mom, etc. (they use parents a lot)

I did want to mention that our favorite Dr. Who episode of the modern version was The Weeping Angles, many people agree, and ironically it hardly had the Doctor Who in it. The writing is very good, it stands alone and made such a good antagonist for the context of the series that is forever changed the show. Much like the Borg in Star Trek.