New Dr Who Series 8 Directed by Ben Wheatley

Well. "In The Forest of the Night" was the worst episode in this series, I think. The ''chemistry'' (or lack thereof) between Clara and The Doctor and the Pink-Doctor-Clara-triangle is getting tiresome and boring. In the preface to the next episode Clara's role/personage seems to make a twist and that's about time!

 

No, that honor goes to the Moon-egg episode.

I was kind a digging this episode, till about the midway point, then it just became totally stupid. Apart from the overall silliness behind the forest as shock absorber 'concept', they kept getting the details behind the threat wrong. First it was a solar flare, then a coronal mass ejection, then a minor meteor (Tunguska event). Then it was meant to be a once in billion year event, and yet 1 billion years ago there were no animals or plants around, let alone woody trees to record the event in their rings and the later contradiction about the Tunguska event, which was just over 100 years ago.

Also, more of the Earth's oxygen is produced in the oceans by phytoplankton than by trees. These are simple details that can easily be checked.

I also couldn't figure out what the fireflies were and how the missing sister reappeared, but I'd stopped caring anyway.

I think that Clara and the Doctor do have chemistry, but Clara & Mr Pink have about zero. I do agree that the whole triangle thing is a tiresome bore.

 

It's a thing these days that the companion can't hang about for more than a couple of years. Not particularly happy about that as I love Clara! Yet they do seem to be laying a path for her departure. Yes, there were many things about the episode that irked - the returned sister being the main thing. What the frell was that all about?? Unless they plan on coming back to it....

 

Did the kids write this episode, what complete and utter nonsense and yet again comforming to the constraints of a single episode story doesn't help, I'm not interested in the series long story arcs with the silly hints, I want proper serialisation with time to pace stories, proper plot development, proper writing and even some good old cliffhanger episodes.

 

New one - drivel, and the preview for the 'finale' looks disappointing. I have absolutely no interest in seeing the Cybermen onscreen ever again. Good stories, well told, please. forget the implausible story-arcs.

 

Seems like these new Who producers/writers run out of steam too quickly. I really enjoyed the first 2 years of the Davies era (the first series was great), thought Moffat wrote some of the best Who episodes later on during Davies era. Actually got back into New Who after originally seeing the intro of Matt Smith and Karen Gillan in the first Produced and Written by Moffat show "The Eleventh Hour", which was great!

That said, the last 2 series have me kinda longing for Davies to come back, and Moffat to just stick with writing a couple episodes a year again. The plots lately are either too convoluted and complicated, just to appear clever, or just silly. Great choice for a new Doctor this series, but overall the rest of the show just ain't working (which is no fault of the actors at all).

 

LOL, I recall that the majority of the Who fandom were baying for Davies' blood for ruining dr who with the silly, infantile fart gags and burping garbage cans! They couldn't wait to see the back of him and were overjoyed when they heard that a proper writer that had penned some of the best episodes at the time, Steven Moffat, was going to take over. I was in that cheer squad, but he has been a disappointment also and I want to see him...'transition to other projects' (along with most of the current guest writers).

Let's face it, nuWho has overwhelmingly been disappointing with occasional gems that were truly great.

 

^ That's what is really sad, The last couple of Moffat run years, have me appreciating the lamer Davies years more and more.

 

Ugh. I didn't mind the kids so much, but the whole tree "air bag" idea was just preposterous.

I really like Capaldi, but there had better be a marked writing improvement in the next series.

 

Outside of a few clunkers (the Dalek episode), this is the best season in quite awhile. Other than Eccleston and maybe the first season of Tennant, I found the stories in the new Who ridiculous compared my favorites from the classic series.


Having said that I'm trying to remember back to the anniversary episode. I thought Gallifrey was found. I guess I'm going to have to go back and rewatch that one.

 

I wasn't a fan of Davies, but this is turning into the worst series ever, it's not because of Capaldi, who has the potential to be a great Doctor, it's not because of Coleman who is far from being a bad companion, it's because the writing is third rate and the non science must surely be deliberate to alienate anyone with even the slightest knowledge and common sense, first the whole Moon creature and now the trees, come on, who even gave those stories a green light.

 

If the earth can save itself by growing trees in London why do we even need the Doctor?

 

Plus, where in the hell did all the people go? I mean it was still London, after all, and the best they could manage was half a dozen government workers in hazmat suits? I expect this level of silliness from Wallace and Grommet go to the moon, not from Dr. Who.

 

This one of my biggest peeves as well - morning, heart of London, no people around? Clearly a cost-cutting measure, but it took me right out of the story, because that's all I kept saying to myself.

It reminds me of the roads and highways on Sons Of Anarchy - no traffic ANYWHERE except for the MC's and occasional cops!

 

For a while I thought they'd beamed in to an episode of "Life After People." The overnight trees really didn't seem that far fetched to those of us who live in kudzu country.

 

This episode was obviously geared toward the young folk, the producers of the series aren't oblivious to the fact that children like Doctor Who and so a couple times a series they will make "cute" episodes directly for them. I see nothing wrong with that, I'm sure the world will potentially be coming to an end in the next episode so we'll be back on track. This episode was FANTASY.

 

Darren Lock's review of "Doctor Who and the Magic F'ing Trees" is pretty much spot-on.

 

LOL yes, good review and bonus points for channeling Ricky Gervais.

 

This is continuing to be the most patchy dr. Who- series I've seen....
There were some flashes where the story got interesting (the first 15 minutes was fine!), but when the end drew near the makers added some traditional elements like the Cybermen who (with the Daleks) were scary until 1975.

 

Really enjoyed Dark Water with a few reservations. Never been convinced with the chemistry between Clara and Danny and he has been a cardboard cut out of a character since about Episode 3, completely failed to flesh out his character.

The Missy reveal was superb even if there was rumours about her identity, BBC did a great job keeping that under wraps in this day and age. A real pity the Cybermen weren't kept secret as well (ala Earthshock) because their reveal in the episode was also excellent.

How Moffat got out of the whole deadend of throwing the Tardis keys in the lava was a bit ham fisted for me but in general I thought the writing was excellent in this episode, really tapped into the whole human fear around death which is a brave subject for a family show.

A few poor filler episodes aside (last weeks Forest of Trees being the nadir) I have thoughrely enjoyed this season, even the fantasy moon as an egg episode that was much derided. Hoping he doesn't balls it up in the final episode.

 

Another poor episode, though much better than last week's. The whole supposedly emotional premise of the ep was undermined by the total lack of chemistry between Clara and Danny. I simply cannot understand why Clara is acting so head-over-heels in love with Danny when his character is as boring as a lump of wood in tepid dishwater, and the show has done nothing over the course of the season to develop any kind of a relationship between the two. I just wished he'd have pushed the damned DELETE button!

And I'm sick to death of the Cybermen (and Daleks) and their silly stompy walks. Why should anyone fear them - they can't even run.

 

I enjoyed it, one of the better ones this series. Looking forward to the final part.

The silly part was Danny not being able to say something unique, like "the first time I kissed you, you tasted of jelly babies" or "you have a mole on your bum!"

 

I'll withhold judgement on this episode until I've seen the second part.

 

Initially, I agree, but when she said she'd be coming to him, I think it was deliberate, as you probably wouldn't want your loved ones following you to hell, limbo or purgatory.

 

Finally, someone more ill-equipped to be in front of a camera than Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson of That Metal Show. Must have something to do with the sideburns.