I’m not a fan of the new opening theme. The visuals look like someone just recorded a music visualizer of the theme song, and the song itself feels like it never really gets going. It just launches straight into the most recognizable part, tepidly repeats itself… and stops. It can’t even be bothered to end.
I guess the Tennant opening still remains my favorite, although the Capaldi opening comes in a respectable second.
Episode was pretty decent, but mostly for the iconic stuff like finding the TARDIS. The main plot was fine but a little bland. Still, better than Steven Moffat’s typical “Let’s put 3 kooky ideas in a blender and see if we can reconcile them by the end (and if not, whatever!)”. I’m remaining optimistic for the season.
Totally agree about the opening sequence, though. Disappointing.
I like the visuals in the intro, the music sucks though.
I like Whitaker but the show feels so bland and samey…bored.
Agree with this - visuals seem like an updated version of Jon Pertwee’s intro, so that makes me happy. WTF with the abbreviated music though.
Is it reminiscent of the “gassy flame head” effect?
I like the classic theme (didn’t care for the over produced versions of more recent seasons) and thought the first episode was solid, but the second episode was definitely a miss for me. The camera work, as mentioned above, became a huge distraction for me in the second episode too. What really surprised me is that the writing credit goes to the same person for both these episodes. The first one at least seemed to have a better understanding of the tone of Doctor Who. The cheesy scifi absurdity that gives way to genuine human emotion is essential to what makes Who Who. This episode seemed only to have a superficial understanding of what a Doctor Who episode looks like.
I’m still in a tizzy about the JNT theme change in Season 18. I don’t much like JNT…
2nd episode was better, audio was clearer, story was interesting for me.
What is up with The Doctor using her new sonic like a Harry Potter magic wand?
Also Ryan one of the new companions is really bad at anything athletic. :D
Ride a bike? Nope. Run from spaceship crashing? Nope.
Not sure if I am a fan of the new TARDIS interior. Do like the biscuit dispenser though.
Am I the only one who finds this a REALLY weird trait for a character? They don’t explain what the actual condition is (that I recall), and they seem to pull it out only when it’s convenient. He doesn’t have any issues just walking around, which… wouldn’t he a little? Watching him ride the bike and then just fall over a couple seconds in was just absurd. Like, what’s the deal? Do his limbs not respond properly? If I saw him concentrating to keep his hands still on the handlebars, only to then see his arm twitch, leading to a crash… then I might be able to swallow this odd character trait. Maybe.
yes that’s right.
My son has dyspraxia as well as severe dysgraphia (he finds it very hard to write at all, or even use a ruler to draw lines, although he can touchtype). Typically you might have poor fine and/or gross motor control among a lot of other things.
One of the things that can happen is that your body can “forget” how to do things - it was explained to me in layman’s terms as imagining that every action you do is contained in a filing cabinet with its own drawer. The brain goes to that drawer and opens it to perform the action. With dyspraxia, the brain might open the wrong drawer.
My son had very poor motor control, unfortunately making it hard for him be good at or to learn new sports in particular which is a nightmare in this country as we’re big on sport in schools. He would be able to do something (for example, bowl in cricket) and then the next day be quite unable to do so. Which was very frustrating for him.
So Ryan and his bike is something I can relate to and find believable.
Thanks for this! That really changes my perspective on it. Be curious to see where they go with it in the series.
Yeah when the heck did they mention that in episode 1. Makes sense now.
In the very first scene when Ryan is making a video, he says he can’t ride a bike “because of the thing I told you before”.
About 15 minutes in when they visit the scene where the pod appeared, Nan says Ryan has dyspraxia and explains that its a coordination disorder.
Later on Graham mentions “blaming it on the dyspraxia as well” when Ryan admits he touched the shapes that led to the pod appearing.
Cocaine is a helluva drug. BTW, does this man look like a Ron Jeremy wannabe, or what?
Not historically. That’s the crap that has increasingly handicapped the show after initially being somewhat charming during Tenant’s run - it just smothered Matt Smith’s run in its crib, and really damaged Capaldi’s potential. I haven’t seen this season at all, but if they’re toning down those aspects they might someday win me back.
He was pretty creepy with me and my friends when we were at a convention and 15 years old.
Gotta agree here. Emotional schmaltz is a recent outlier tactic. The series *is * about cheesy sci fi. And is at its best when it probes things like dimensional theories, etc.
God no more “romantic tension”. I really blame Russell T Davies fro that nonsense, and am still peeved at Moffat for not reeling it back in.
Ok, Dess, you can’t hit and run with that one. Dish.
The moment I’m thinking of is from Eccleston’s run. This cheesy little tank with a plunger is the biggest bad that ever there was, with its silly special effects & catchphrases. Yet the show wrenches a beautiful moment of vulnerability from both the dalek & the Doctor when the dalek realizes “I am alone in the universe?” and the Doctor finds himself empathizing with his mortal enemy, revealing himself both to us & to, well, himself. It was poignant in a context that had no right to be.
That is the human emotion in the face of absurdity that makes Who Who. It was increasingly cheapened as the Moffat years went on. I’m not talking about cheap, forced sentimentality. I’m talking about genuine emotion in silly circumstances.