Doctor Who

[Deleted]

I wasn't dead keen on "Love & Monsters" either. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't my favourite by a long shot. You have to make a one-off character incredibly compelling for them to be the protagonist successfully, and neither that nor "Invisible Eugene" achieved that. Plus, dude, they're basically the same character. It wasn't a terrible watch, but I spent the entire time muttering, "what. the fuck." to myself.

I thought they had two really compelling episodes in "Small Worlds" (with the fairies) and "Countrycide" (the Gwen/Owen OMG + crazy villagers), then "Greeks Bearing Gifts" (with psychic Tosh) lost it a bit. I thought they were regaining it with "They Keep Killing Suzie" and there were suggestions of an arc there...but then "Invisible Eugene" was just pointless.

And I am beyond baffled by the fact that they built up the whole Gwen/Owen thing so gradually only to drop it entirely. I mean, have them fight or something! It was a plot point! For several episodes! And Rhys has vanished too, and this dead guy Eugene is in love with her, and whatever. It honestly felt like they'd just left out an episode, in which we see Gwen and Owen split up, more recovery time for the team on the psychic Tosh and psycho Suzie issues, and, you know, a story arc which hints at more of Jack's past.

I like Torchwood too, and I think it's got loads of potential, but it's absolutely not fulfilling it at this point. It needs an arc, it needs more follow through, and it needs to not focus on Gwen (although I like her) at the expense of Captain Jack, who, let's face it, is the reason most of us tuned in.

Sigh. Looks like there's an episode after Christmas called "Captain Jack Harkness", so hopefully that's the backstory. But you know, they really could have built up to it better.

[auroramoon]

Yeah, I finished last nights ep with a blank mind apart from - WTF?

It was the biggest anticlimax of anything ever.

They'd better pick up their act, the episodes seem to be fairly up and down. As far as I can remember at the moment my favourite episodes have been Countrycide and They Keep Killing Suzie. I can't really remember anything outstanding about the first episodes. They were ok. But last night? BAD. So bad.

[laconicchick]

Sadly, I discovered last night while watching the David Tennant episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" that he looks uncomfortably like my father when sporting a beard. NOOOOO! And ew.

But he's still adorable when beardless, so...

[Deleted]

Okay, so, Torchwood finished five minutes ago, and it was another of those "what the fucking fuck?" episodes. Don't get me wrong, it was interesting and engaging enough in and of itself, but oh my God, is no one actually guiding the direction of this show? Seriously, it's like a bunch of different writers got show outlines to write, then went off and locked themselves in rooms, and came out with the finished product, and never cross-checked with each others' damn episodes.

I'm mostly enjoying individual episodes, but I'm really frustrated by the show as a whole. It's got so much potential, but the overall plotting is a mess. They can't seem to continue a thought from one episode to another, and they're not bothering even to mention the HUGE ENORMOUS ISSUES they keep starting. Hm. Perhaps they're looking for a storyline coordinator. They need one.

And also, why is it that in a show starring this man, the one doing all the sexy stuff is Owen? I know he's all lonely and isolated, but he was a total slut on Doctor Who and we loved that about him. Why is he not out there slutting it up to repress his pain or something? WHY GOD WHY?

Ahem. But I think it is a fair point. I like Owen, but I want sexy Jack back.

[laconicchick]

Ianto in the store was priceless. His face! "Of course, bananas are far more interesting."

Seriously, it's like a bunch of different writers got show outlines to write, then went off and locked themselves in rooms, and came out with the finished product, and never cross-checked with each others' damn episodes.

I'm mostly enjoying individual episodes, but I'm really frustrated by the show as a whole. It's got so much potential, but the overall plotting is a mess. They can't seem to continue a thought from one episode to another, and they're not bothering even to mention the HUGE ENORMOUS ISSUES they keep starting.

I agree completely. I liked this episode; it had a teensy bit of character development (I was so glad Jack finally said SOMETHING about his past, even if we already knew it), interesting guest characters (unlike Boring McNoCharisma last week) and engaging stuff happening.

But you're right; there doesn't seem to be any internal continuity from episode to episode. I like that, from the previews, it appears Gwen is going to tell Rhys about Owen, but... Then I assume Gwen doesn't know about whatsherface (Diana? Diane?) from this episode. But she says she's "been having sex," so has it been going on behind the scenes despite the nothing we heard about it last episode? Somehow I don't think Owen will pick up where he left off after Diane/Diana left... But I sort of hope he does. I like Gwen and Owen together, even though I know I probably shouldn't.

And also, why is it that in a show starring this man, the one doing all the sexy stuff is Owen? I know he's all lonely and isolated, but he was a total slut on Doctor Who and we loved that about him. Why is he not out there slutting it up to repress his pain or something? WHY GOD WHY?

Ahem. But I think it is a fair point. I like Owen, but I want sexy Jack back.

I agree with you on that one, too. I'm really glad that Owen is sexing around, because he's grown on me a lot and I think he's hot despite his lizard face, but you're right about Jack. Maybe Jack has something going on with Ianto (I have tried to interpret that stopwatch conversation in another way and I just can't do it), but... We need an explanation as to why Jack has changed so much. Remember "I was just saying hello!" "For you, that's flirting"? What happened to that Jack? I can see him not wanting to get close to anyone, though, in case they leave him on a satellite full of corpses again or something.

I want to hear Jack's background SO BADLY. I am so curious about what happened to him, and about how he got the hand! And also about why those 3D glasses are on his lamp.

My friend and I had a Doctor Who marathon this weekend. She'd never seen it, so we watched all the episodes from the Eccleston/Tennant seasons (or series or whatever you want to call them) except for "Love and Monsters," because we were running out of time and it's not important to the overall arc. It was awesome and I feel very accomplished.

[Malle Babbe]

You aren't the only one Erinnyes. There are so many great parts of Torchwood, but the writers leave so many gaps and drop so many plot points that it is a frustrating show to watch. It's like they can't decide if the folks in the Cardiff office are super-duper secret elite agency (who have the name of their organization on the side of their massive SUV of doom) or are a bunch of klutzes.

I mean, if they were truly a hardcore elite force, then why didn't Ianto end up with a bullet in his head at the end of Cyberwoman? I imagine local temp agencies wouldn't appreciate their employees getting mindwiped everyday, but are good coffee brewing skills that hard to find in the UK?

It would actually be a more interesting show if the writers instead admitted that the folks at Torchwood Cardiff are the second stringers now shoved onto the front lines due to Torchwood getting totally decimated in Army of Ghosts/ Doomsday. The whole process of them starting to get their acts together and dealing with loss and stress would make for some great story arcs.

And don't get me started on the stopwatch Even though I've seen a pic from the season ender that has ignited the panties of countless fangirls, ;D, and I have quite the Jack/Ianto slashfic collection, that bit of banter (in a morgue, no less) makes me wonder if slashing and HoYay! are two things best left to the fans.

Let's just say RTD will have a lot to answer for if that scene inspires 60 Minutes Real Person Slash...

[Deleted]

Seriously, it's driving me nuts. I enjoy the episodes, mostly, but the last few have left me sitting there going, what the FUCK, people?

That's an interesting notion, about them being the crappy leftovers...I wish that they would consider things like that. It's weird, it's like no one has bothered to think out this universe properly, and to integrate the things they're going to want to use later on. So much potential being wasted here. Maybe if we write to Russell T. Davies, he will hire us to sort out this crap.

Okay, this keeps being mentioned, but for some reason I don't recall a stopwatch bit at all. Which episode is that in?

[laconicchick]

The stopwatch conversation is in "They Keep Killing Suzie," with Jack and Ianto at the very end.

[grumpygirl]

We don't have Torchwood here, only Dr. Who. Maybe there should be a separate Torchwood thread because A) these could be spoilery for folks who don't have access to the show yet and B) this is the Dr. Who thread and C) I have no idea what you all are talking about and it's all about me.

That said, we just had the episode where Rose and the Doctor pop in for London's 2012 olympics only to find that a little girl, possessed by an alien, is sucking people into her artwork. The whole thing seemed too silly for me. It seems like they rehash story lines over and over.

Next week is the finale where we lose Rose.

[laconicchick]

We did wonder if we should have a separate thread for Torchwood, but it seemed it would be deader than this one. Maybe there are enough people watching to start one? They are separate shows, after all, so it would make sense. I think I will start one, but it will probably be pretty slow-moving.

I liked "Fear Her"... but mainly because of all the cute Rose/Doctor bits. I'm easy to please.