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Post by The Doctor on Dec 20, 2007 12:21:01 GMT
I, the Doctor, must visit these statues when next in Cardiff!
-Ralph
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Dec 20, 2007 18:30:36 GMT
I'll do my best, but can't promise anything. They tend to move around when you're not looking at them. I'm sure that lady with her kid and the workman in a cap were in a different part of Queen Street when they first appeared. The one outside City Hall is well-behaved, though. Maybe it has a CCTV camera pointed at it.
The good thing about getting zapped to St Fagans is that each house is from a different era, so it's quite easy to hop back to the present day without the need for a TARDIS.
Martin
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Post by legios on Dec 20, 2007 23:31:08 GMT
I'll do my best, but can't promise anything. They tend to move around when you're not looking at them. I'm sure that lady with her kid and the workman in a cap were in a different part of Queen Street when they first appeared. The one outside City Hall is well-behaved, though. Maybe it has a CCTV camera pointed at it. That'd make sense. Like the television audience a CCTV camera would count as "observed" on a quantum level. I fear that the only statue we have in the centre of Falkirk isn't within the field of view of a CCTV system, so it does get a slightly sideways look from me everytime I go past. Not that I completely distrust it, but always better to err on the side of caution right?......... Sort of riding the wave of history until you get beached back in the present, A handy riptide to be able to ride back. Otherwise it might be slightly tedious to have to take the long way back through space time at one second per second....... Karl
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Post by KnightBeat on Dec 21, 2007 1:10:48 GMT
I also re-watched Blink last night. Damn it! I have to walk past some of those statues this morning! Must... not... blink... I was looking for Cardiff statues at the end of the episode and recognised several of them. Did I imagine it, or was the final shot of the Gareth Edwards statue in the shopping centre?
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Dec 21, 2007 7:36:49 GMT
Didn't spot a rugby player myself. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnpbrNcRgqAThe clip misses out my favourite Cardiff statue, which was definitely there at the end of Blink, namely the one holding the branch outside City Hall: Martin
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Post by Philip Ayres on Dec 25, 2007 22:39:21 GMT
Ooh, that was cracking.
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Post by Bogatan on Dec 25, 2007 23:40:57 GMT
So what did everyone think of the christmas episode? Felt like it was relying on a lot of cliches and not bringing a lot new to the formula. Still entertaining enough though. And at least Tate wasn't in it.
Andy
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Post by Mark_Stevenson on Dec 26, 2007 15:28:51 GMT
I thought the ship would have been better named the Poseidon, cos that's where a good half of the script came from! Twas fun though. Poor Kylie...
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 26, 2007 15:35:50 GMT
For the most part, I thought it was highly entertaing tosh. Yes it was indeed Return to the Beyond of the Poseidon Adventure but it isn't the first time Who has, ah, 'borrowed' from other sources. It had some flaws. The reveal of Max-in-a-box made me guffaw out loud. It looked like something from Frontos circa, er, 1984. And Max's plan itself was deeply uninteresting despite a good turn from the actor. Also as much as I like Kylie, she barely registered her presence on screen most of the time. And did anyone else think the amount of folk falling to their deaths was a bit gratuitous? Especially in an episode designed to go out on Chrimbo Day. I also thought the implication that the Host's were decapitating people was at the edge of acceptable levels of violence for a show with a large children's audience. Astrid's death was unintentionally hilarious as it was the 2nd time in the story a character had heroically fallen to their death to Save The Doctor. The less said about the comedy Queen (who, tonally, had walked in from a completely different show) the better.
Which sounds like I didn't enjoy it. I did find it quite fun overall. Just these niggly things stopped it from being a great episode. Some fine manic acting from Tennant at the Titanic wheel as it fell through the atmosphere, Geoffrey Palmer and Bernard Cribbens were great in their small roles and the meteor sequence was extremely well staged and built up to. The music was great, some nice writing in the last 10 minutes in particular and a genuinely iconic moment when the Doctor was hoisted aloft by two of the Hosts. Clive Swift stole the show from under everyone's feet though. I wanted Mr Cooper to be the next companion! I would not say no to him featuring again.
Pleasingly, Tate did not annoy me in the series 4 trailer.
Overall, much better than The Runaway Bride but not as good as The Christmas Invasion. 7/10
-Ralph
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 26, 2007 19:33:10 GMT
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Gav
Drone
John Travoltage!
Posts: 2,045
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Post by Gav on Dec 26, 2007 23:07:19 GMT
Doctor Who sentenced Kylie to an eternity floating alone in the vast cold vacuum of space.
Harsh.
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 26, 2007 23:27:56 GMT
And if it had been Hartnell Doc, he would have wagged his finger at her too.
-Ralph
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Post by gloriana on Dec 27, 2007 9:37:25 GMT
I'm with Ralph on this one. Weren't too bad. Was an awful lot of death/destruction for a Chrimbo episode. I was hoping that I was going to get some good entertainment in the middle of the bookmark of misery that is Eastenders. Hey ho!
rowan
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 27, 2007 12:35:04 GMT
On a tangent, I watched Time-Flight with the commentary track by Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding and everyone's favourite mad old uncle, Eric Saward. Time-Flight itself is renowned, both by fans and many of the folk who worked on it as being utterly terrible. It is pretty dull. But it is elevated to greatness by the commentary, one of the most entertaining I've heard on many a DVD. It's just hilarous. Sutton begs for chocolate, Saward pisses himself in a corner while Fielding winds him up more and more as it goes on and Davison trowells on a layer of dry wit on top it all. "Now! Now! Everyone! Let's try to be positive!" he yells by episode 2 but within minutes everyone is giving the story a damn good kicking again in a most fun manner.
A good bit is near the end of episode 1 when the Doctor and co think they are at Heathrow Airport but are in fact Back In The Mists Of Time. "Now the illusion here," comments Davison, "is that we think we're on film, but actually we're on video."
Yes, it's the kind of gag only uber-geeks will get but I damn near pissed myself at that point.
-Ralph
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Dec 27, 2007 14:07:44 GMT
Christmas special was enjoyable tosh and definitely better than last year's.
Popped on to OG to laugh at the wild speculation for themes and arcs for Series Four.
I did like Clive Swift's line to the Doctor about if you could choose who lived or died you'd be a monster. Pretty much sums up a few events in his life - The Time War, the destruction of Skaro and so on and so forth.
Andy
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 27, 2007 14:42:12 GMT
On that note, Max-in-a-box had a good line about the Doctor: "All that banter yet not a word wasted." Pretty much sums up the 10th Doctor's approach to danger.
-Ralph
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 27, 2007 15:01:43 GMT
Fair enough if it's not to your tastes. With the ratings Who pulls in though (over 12 million for the Chrimbo special) I doubt the BBC would have any reason to move RTD on, from their point of view.
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on Dec 27, 2007 19:08:10 GMT
He's almost certainly going. Have you heard his interviews of late, the bit at the end of the S3 video diary etc ?
Although much of RTD's actual writing hasn't been to my taste - I liked Rose, Tooth & Claw, the S2 end 2 parter, Smith and Jones and this Christmas special out of what he has done - the overall management of the show has been pretty good. It could have died on it's arse back in 05.
I'd like to see Stephen Moffat in charge.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Dec 27, 2007 19:17:06 GMT
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Post by Bogatan on Dec 27, 2007 21:42:03 GMT
He's almost certainly going. Have you heard his interviews of late, the bit at the end of the S3 video diary etc ? Although much of RTD's actual writing hasn't been to my taste - I liked Rose, Tooth & Claw, the S2 end 2 parter, Smith and Jones and this Christmas special out of what he has done - the overall management of the show has been pretty good. It could have died on it's arse back in 05. I'd like to see Stephen Moffat in charge. I agree last year Moffat was responsible for much good. Nothing against RTD, but maybe after this year someone else guiding the series would be a benefit. Still hope the 09 movies cover the time wars and bring back Mcgann. Andy
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 27, 2007 22:27:40 GMT
Who can honestly say they were excited by the series four preview? I was. Honestly. Not just saying that to disagree with you. Like it or not, RTD will be around for a while yet. He's involved in the production of series 4. He was announced as the writer of the 2009 specials. The revival of Doctor Who has become the stuff of industry legend. It's reasonable to assume the BBC will bend over backwards to keep him on the show as long as possible. And they are never going to take notice of what a handful of folk on message boards say (positive or negative) anyway out of an average audience of c8 million viewers every week. Eventually, yes, RTD will chose to move on and someone else will make the show. It's too valuable for the BBC to can it when he moves on, despite what some hysterical corners of the internet may scream. Various head honchos have come and gone throughout Doctor Who's history. Don't like the current version? That's OK, we all have different tastes. Tune back in when someone else is in charge. And there's still loads of Who produced in other mediums anyway (audio plays, novels, comics from 4 different publishers, etc). Not to mention the accelerated release schedule of the original series on DVD. There really is a brand of Who being produced for every taste. Heck, I've been a fan all my life and there are still loads of episodes of the original series I haven't seen (or in the case of some 60's episodes, heard) yet. Always 'new' stuff to sample. I haven't liked all of New Who. There have been a few episodes I thought were duff, and some creative decisions that annoy but overall I rather enjoy it. The novelty of ' Doctor Who is back on telly!' has long since worn off. I watch it because I like it. For 25/45 minutes I can switch off my worries and watch a slice of mad fun. And yes, one day, it will fade from our screens yet again. Not a problem really. Nothing stays popular forever. Let's just enjoy it (or whatever) while it's on. Doctor Who has given me a lot of enjoyment in my life and been a handy source of escape during difficult times, but at the end of the day it's just a TV show. -Ralph
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 28, 2007 1:37:36 GMT
Actually, now I've come to think about it, and for the interest of absolutely no-one, the Old Who that I've yet to experience is:
The Keys of Marinus - episodes 2-6 The Reign of Terror - episodes 4-5 The Chase The Savages The Smugglers The Underwater Menace - episodes 1-2, 4 The Enemy of the World - episodes 1-2, 4-6 The Wheel in Space - episodes 1-2, 4-5 The Dominators The Space Pirates - episodes 1, 3-6 Frontier in Space - episodes 2-6 The Monster of Peladon Planet of the Spiders - episodes 2-6 The Brain of Morbius The Seeds of Doom The Invisible Enemy The Ribos Operation* The Stones of Blood* The Androids of Tara* The Power of Kroll* The Armageddon Factor* Meglos Full Circle State of Decay Warriors Gate Black Orchid+ Snakedance+ Mawdryn Undead - episodes 2-4+ The King's Demons+ Warriors of the Deep+
*Recently acquired on DVD, to be watched soon +I probably saw them when very young as I was watching from at least Earthshock but can't remember anything about them at all
Hmmmm, more than I thought! But then I know every story backwards and forwards anyway through the novelisations, reference books, etc.
-Ralph
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Dec 28, 2007 10:16:35 GMT
I'm with Paul to be honest. New Who / RTD is a bit like Buffy / Joss Whedon. Very fresh new style of television writing for a year or so, then they just settle down to the successful formula. I reckon there's two types of TV viewer, neither of them right or wrong. The first type watches something while it is new and original, then loses interest as it goes into variations on a theme (even if the quality is just as good - or even slightly improving). The second type will keep watching it and enjoying it as long as the quality remains good. I'm definitely in the first category, which is why I went off Star Trek after TNG finished, why I lost enthusiasm for Buffy and Doctor Who after a few years, and why I don't buy TF comics any more. Whether I rate Patrick Stewart and Christopher Eccleston more highly than their successors purely on their merits, or whether the fact that the novelty had worn off the franchises contributed, I can't say. Probably both play a part. However, unlike the Trek and Buffy franchises, I won't stop watching Who and Torchwood when I get bored of them, on account of them being filmed where I live. I think all the Doctor Who Christmas specials have been below average for the current series, and this was no exception. The slow-motion falling scenes were pretty dire. I liked the Queen though. Martin
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Post by Philip Ayres on Dec 28, 2007 10:39:35 GMT
Out of what you listed
Absoloute cracker I don't like this - bucking the trend - but any story with Camp Freddy (from the Italian Job) as the villain and Boycie (from Only Fools and Horses) as his henchman can't be all bad. Superb, especially the first 2 episodes. Fun. Good, despite it's major crime against humanity. Stunning. Great for a 2 parter. Long overdew for a DVD release so i can get rid of a double pack off the shelf. Fabulous stuff
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Dec 28, 2007 12:55:30 GMT
UK Gold is starting a rerun of the Tom Baker shows in the new year at tea time on weekdays.
Andy
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Post by Philip Ayres on Dec 28, 2007 17:51:02 GMT
Tape R the ones he's missed will you ?
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 28, 2007 21:14:19 GMT
I've started watching The Key to Time season. My word, The Ribos Operation bored me absolutely shitless! Luckily, The Pirate Planet was up next, the only story of the season I have previously seen and about which I will not hear a word against! One episode into The Stones of Blood so far, nicely atmospheric. Not bad so far though I couldn't give a toss about the Key to Time plotline overall as it just gets in the way of the stories and is utter, utter, utter guff. I am thus far mystified that it has attracted such fan attention as a plot device.
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on Dec 28, 2007 21:28:39 GMT
I'm with you on Pirate Planet, splendid stuff. Liz hadsn't liked it but watched it today with a 4 year old visitor to the house and pronounced it "Much better than she thought"
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Post by The Doctor on Dec 28, 2007 21:35:46 GMT
"Life force dying! Life force dying!"
I've often heard that in my head during boring work meetings.
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on Dec 28, 2007 21:52:59 GMT
In an odd way PP feels very Blake's 7y to me when I watch it now. Not that that's a bad thing
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