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Post by Oldmankrondas on Mar 31, 2007 22:38:43 GMT
Discuss Smith and Jones!
Personally, I think it's the best of the three opening episodes, and it established Martha brilliantly, who I absolutely adore already.
I think David Tennant has got his character down to a tee now, a lot more reserved and serious, which makes his comic, mad bits work brilliantly. And that bit where he's watching Martha from the alleyway, bloody charming!
Freema was excellent, as someone who was skeptical about the decision based on her work in Army of Ghosts, I was blown away by how suited to the role she seemed, and I really like the idea she's completely enamoured by the Doctor but he's more interested in a friend. (Something I, and many people can surely relate to.)
Liked the Judoon a lot, kind of wish they were a bit badder though, as you weren't entirely sure if they were villains or anti-heroes. Still want them to come back.
Now the down side, didn't really like the straw. And if the Plasmavore assimilated the Doctors blood, why did the Judoon scanners recognise her as a Plasmavore and not a Timelord? But that, along with the mildly intrusive score are minor niggles.
I have really high hopes for this series, and as a huge fan of Tennant hope that this is the series that cements him in the hearts of his doubters.
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Post by armadillozenith on Mar 31, 2007 23:19:08 GMT
;D ;D ;D
Loved it!
Martha seemed spot-on, and the Doctor posing as a patient, then the tie thing, worked well. I had doubts beforehand about rhino-headed aliens, but the Judoon worked out well. Rhino as a shorthand for their stubborn rather brutal personality fitted.
RTD has an astute way of capitalising on the commonplace to make it special. I can imagine loads of kids this week taking a second wary glance at guys they see in biking leathers with tinted helmet visors... a wondering look at the raindrops on the window next time it rains... guffaws or snigers over slurping straws especially in the hands of elderly ladies... etc etc.
Transplanting a hospital, I like that. It looked awesome. The reactions to finding themselves suddenly on the moon were realistic, well-acted... a brave move for a teatime show.
I have my usual take-a-science-primer-for-goodness-sake gripes eg where was the power supposed to be coming from? 250,000 mile radius lethal magnetic pulse, er, wouldn't that intensity (inverse square law and all that) require rather an unfeasibly large amount of power at the source? rather beyond the scope of hospital generators, wiring, etc? I think it would have burnt out in an instant and done no harm at all...
Ahhhh (sees way to redeem plot) EXCEPT for harm nearby... to those in the hospital! Mrs Plasmavore may have been wittering out of her head re the 250,000 miles, but the LOCAL danger was clear and present. Fine, sorted.
Power? er, let's surmise that Judoon jurisdictional protocols forbid interference with essential requirements of innocent civilians when in pursuit of suspects, hence the lighting, power and heating needs were somehow met by their superior technology while the hospital was disconnected from earth.
Gravity within the hospital was maintained at levels normal for earth rather than the moon - ditto.
They misjudged things with the air, cutting a bit fine, but hey - like the Doctor said they're a bit thick. Maybe they didn't allow for such panic, elevating rates of oxygen consumption.
A lovely intro for Martha and I felt SOO RELIEVED when she did opt to come on board. Though I 'knew' she would of course. But in the story, it seemed to hang in the balance.
I have rationalised away all my quibbbles and give this top marks!
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Post by Cornelia_Africana on Apr 1, 2007 9:23:22 GMT
I didn't find this a very impressive start to the new series. First, it was totally predictable. As soon as you knew that the Judoon were looking for someone who was not human - that is, twenty minutes into the plot - you knew who the villain was. For Pete's sake, we'd seen her before the Judoon even arrived. Wouldn't it have been better to have built up some suspense, by for instance, having the Doctor and Martha find bodies drained of blood in the hospital corridor, not knowing who was responsible, and only have the final revelation made near the end? (Oh no, I forgot, building up a plot would have left no time for that "family drama" soap scene at the end). Yawn. From then on in, it was totally predictable. He kissed her so she would take in a little bit of alien genetic material so as to delay the Judoon. Obvious. Then the Doctor pretended to be human so the villainess would drain his blood and thus register on the Judoon scanners as an alien. Totally obvious. We had further examples of Russell's pathetically unfunny 'humour", and hints that a romance will develop between the two lead characters. Triple yawn.
And I'm starting to find David Tennant's "cockney geezer" mannerisms and way of speaking really irritating. It's not just that it's so totally unalien, it's actually hard to follow what he's saying at time. And of course, RTD's impressive grasp of science was once again in evidence - shaking out radiation through his shoes for Pete's sake!
I also don't think RTD has any talent for making the mundane seem special. The show was always good at doing that. What RTD does is make the special seem mundane. The truth is, he just wants to write a soap opera set in space, and the science fiction elements are just there so that there can be a token resemblance to the genre. It's why there's so little interest in making the scientific content at least appear plausible - that would take thinking on Russell's part and get in the way of the soapy elements. And once again, how did the Doctor save the day? Pulling the plug on the machine - brilliant! ANd then waited for the Judoon to lift their force field. In other words, nothing.
On the positive side, MArtha Jones does seem to have some potential as a companion. I just wonder whether future stories will do this justice. On the basis of this offering, I'm far from convinced.
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Post by duncan on Apr 1, 2007 15:36:33 GMT
4/5 from me. That was a good series opener. It was very visual and Freema was OK. I thought she was going to be a bit wooden, but she wasnt.
I liked the some of the one liners and the little nods to the previous episodes. Like The Doctor grabbing the new companions hand and saying "RUN" as in Rose, and the reference to New Earth when the Doctor saw the shop in the corner, "Oh you've got a little shop. I love shops."
The Judoon looked great and the animatronic model worked very well. They came across as ruthless one minute by executing the guy who smashed a vase over one of their heads, then the gave Martha compensation for examining her. A funny contrast, but they werent the total villians I was expecting them to be.
Oh, and if The DOctor was that near to death, wouldnt a regeneration have kicked in?
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Post by John Darnacan on Apr 3, 2007 11:50:17 GMT
I liked Freema's Martha. Although, I thought she fell into companion behaviour too quickly, making her joining the Doctor seem inevitable. Particularly as the Doctor seemed to be testing or auditioning her with little 'what do you think?' type of questions I like the Judoon, particularly as they were not particularly evil, just thick and determined. (Pure evil seems a little cartoonish to me.) My guess is we'll see them again someday. (Especially since they invested so much in the animatronics.  I admit the absorbing radiation, then expelling it through his shoes bit was stupid and not at all necessary. Overall, not a classic episode, but not too bad at all. |
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Post by Fitz Kreiner on Apr 3, 2007 19:15:03 GMT
it was a good episode, not the best, but a good one. i liked the Judoon, nice to have an alien race that werent just evil aliens out to conquer as i must admit i was expecting them to be.
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Post by Meddling Monkey on Apr 4, 2007 2:32:43 GMT
I liked the episode, Martha, etc.
But why did the Judoon have to look like rhinos? Why would they look like an Earth animal? It shows a lack of imagination. Human-shaped bodies, but rhinocerous heads?
What's next? Giraffes?
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Post by armadillozenith on Apr 4, 2007 23:46:05 GMT
RTD's impressive grasp of science was once again in evidence - shaking out radiation through his shoes for Pete's sake! Ok, let's look at this one. (I'm in benevolent 'let's make excuses for everybody, even RTD at his silliest' mode just now)... (1) Maybe it was the Doctor posing another test or 'interview question' or 'audition challenge' for Martha... to see how ignorant/foolish/gullible/trusting/pedantic/serious/etc she might be? 'If I do something that's humanly-speaking-crazy in a crisis - as I sometimes have to - and need her to go along with me without being awkward, will she do?' as a sort of subtext. 'Is she flexible enough to go beyond what she thinks she knows?' Or maybe just 'has she got a sense of humour?' It could have been all mere bluff... along with his how ever many percent boost in X-ray intensity (mind you, we had seen him appear as a skeleton for a flash) (2) Maybe Time-Lord's have nanogenes in their circulation (or para-dimensionally attached or something) that really CAN absorb and dissipate X-rays (Roentgen radiation)... maybe shaking helps activate them or distribute them effectively, or direct their expulsion mechanism appropriately ('er, oh, just dump it in my left shoe please'? (but what then of the first Doctor's radiation poisoning on Skaro?) (3) Some other rationalisation I haven't thought of. But anyway I've had enough fun with this now. Bye! ;D |
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Post by armadillozenith on Apr 5, 2007 0:03:01 GMT
I liked the episode, Martha, etc. But why did the Judoon have to look like rhinos? Why would they look like an Earth animal? It shows a lack of imagination. Human-shaped bodies, but rhinocerous heads? What's next? Giraffes? Look out for a future episode, in which this mystery will be revealed by the Face of Boe. The whole episode will be revealed as a stunt, a practical joke set up by a galactic Jeremy Beadle. Or else the hospital uplift was intended as prelude to the Doctor's appearance on a cosmic equivalent of 'This is Your Life'... ('These are Your Lives'?) but the Eamonn Andrews equivalent disguised among the Judoon had forgotten to bring the big red book, so they had to hastily concoct a cover story so the Doctor wouldn't suspect. Then they can spring the surprise properly another time. Actually we only SAW one 'rhinoface' Judoon. The rest could all look different. Who knows what THEY'd look like if they took their helmets off? Giraffes? Warthogs? Cave bears? Armadillos (hey, never mind Judoon platoon, how about Armadillo armada?!) ... Ewoks? Aggedor? I miss Aggedor. Let's hope they bring him back. Oh, and Alpha Centauri... the 'hermaphrodite hexapod' voiced by Ysanne Churchman, and (I think) acted by Stuart Fell? (I've just gone and checked this in the Doctor Who 'Programme Guide' by Jean-Marc L'Officier, and I was right! In both episodes, 'The Curse of Peladon' and 'The Monster of Peladon', the casting was as I said. Now, WHY do I remember things like that???) I guess it's just part of my armadillozenithdom. ;D |
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Post by Claire Voyant on Apr 5, 2007 1:13:03 GMT
That was a wonderful example of armadillozenithishness. ;D Don't say that too fast; you may hurt your tongue. |
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Post by mindmatters on Apr 9, 2007 18:33:14 GMT
I loved Smith & Jones. My favorite series opener to date. It seems like the gang has learned what works and what doesn't. This episode clearly worked for me. I like Martha much better than I expected. She's not Rose with a tan..but a unique character. She's the typical firstborn in the family...the one who gets things done. She didn't fawn all over the Doc either. At least, she wasn't terribly obvious about it....more mature behavior...than her previous counterpart. I'm looking forward to seeing what more the series has to offer..
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Post by armadillozenith on Apr 22, 2007 16:44:19 GMT
That was a wonderful example of armadillozenithishness. ;D Don't say that too fast; you may hurt your tongue. haha Claire! thanks. btw you with the catgirl icon and all, how do you feel about the inclusion of all those catpeople in later episode Gridlock? Graham |
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Post by armadillozenith on Apr 22, 2007 16:50:52 GMT
I just noticed that if you take two letters off each word you get "Judo Plato up t' Mo"... Which kinda makes sense too... almost... for an imaginary episode plot precis... An up-to-the-moment (ie avant-garde, state-of-the-art) martial-arts-versed philosopher into social reconstruction? Graham (retreats into armadillo shell to await response...) |
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Post by Claire Voyant on Apr 22, 2007 19:51:07 GMT
;D That was a wonderful example of armadillozenithishness. ;D Don't say that too fast; you may hurt your tongue. haha Claire! thanks. btw you with the catgirl icon and all, how do you feel about the inclusion of all those catpeople in later episode Gridlock? Graham Purrr-fect. ;D Except that couldn't watch it here in the US yet. And the BBC prevented it from going on YouTube!   |
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Post by Oldmankrondas on Apr 22, 2007 21:19:48 GMT
Hahaha, you nutter!
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