Totally agree with you there. Whilst it's a decision made purely to inject more variety into the series - he's employed only a select few writers, some who have written more than one episode. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship or The Power of Three (the latter especially, given it was all resolved a bit too quickly - and we barely met the villain before he was defeated) could have been two-part episodes, both being written by Chris Chibnall. The same applies to The Rings of Akhaten and Hide which could have been two-part episodes, both being written by Neil Cross, and Cold War and The Crimson Horror, both being written by Mark Gatiss.

And Moffat opting not to have two-part finales is very strange. The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang was excellent. The Wedding of River Song was good, but not as excellent as the Series 5 finale - and the upcoming Series 7 finale is obviously going to have a massive revelation which will keep us hanging until the 50th Anniversary, but is it all going to happen too quickly?

 

The lack of the two-part finales are especially disappointing as it looses some of the 'epicness' that finales should have. I definitely agree about The Wedding of River Song not being as good as the previous finale, we had the whole series building up to it and it just felt a bit too quick and rushed in the end. It felt as though it's only purpose was to answer the question of why the Doctor didn't actually die whereas the Series 5 finale had time to tell it's own story and build up more mystery about what the Pandorica and the cracks in the universe were as well as answering these questions. It felt as though this was the story that the series had been building up to tell.

Exactly, The Wedding of River Song felt more like a continuation of a story, where its sole purpose was to wrap up, and to bring things to an end. Whereas with The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang being a two-part story, it had time to introduce new elements to the near-end of the arc with the cracks in time, but at the same time answer questions that had yet to be answered.

 

In other news,

Jemma Redgrave

is confirmed to be appearing in the 50th Anniverary, reprising her role as

Kate Stewart, the Brigadier's daughter

!

Ugh, she was terrible last time. She's a pretty bad actress, isn't she.

Ugh, she was terrible last time. She's a pretty bad actress, isn't she.

She wasn't really given much to do to be able to show if she was good enough or not, TBH.

 

The only reason she was included, I think, is because UNIT were involved and Chris Chibnall obviously wanted a man/woman-in-charge type person, and wanted to pay tribute to the late Nick Courtney. Hopefully she's better in the 50th.

They've been filming on-location today at the Tower of London (Kate Stewart's UNIT base). Jemma Redgrave, Jenna-Louise Coleman and Ingrid Oliver (new guest star) were the only ones spotted on set. The BBC have released a video showing them filming the scenes.

 

Noteworthy:

Ingrid Oliver's costume includes a scarf very familiar to that worn by a certain Tom Baker.

;)

True. I think the story served more of a purpose to explain Clara's history rather than have a story about the Rings of Akhaten itself. It was just the Doctor showing Clara somewhere awesome to show her how good travelling with him can be. But I do agree that a story is essential, because it wouldn't be worth watching otherwise, and it did lack in some places. There was a story underneath all of the running around, etc - but it just wasn't resolved as good as it could have been, and as others have said, it was leading up to nothing.

 

The pre-titles sequences normally set up the whole story. It did exactly that for The Bells of Saint John, and the fact that the whole of the pre-titles sequence for The Rings of Akhaten was about Clara and her past, shows that it really was a bigger focus than the plot itself. Disappointing, yes, but the scenes with Clara's mother and father were executed perfectly.

 

Fair enough comments. Can I say I love Dr Who to bits? Thanks:)

 

My mate saw some Dr Who villains being filmed in London a few weeks back. Don't think thats a spoiler...

 

cheers

john

Ooh, does he know what monsters/villains they were? Could be for something different to the show, because the current run finished filming in November, and the 50th Anniversary only started filming a week ago, but in desolate hilly locations.

They've been filming on-location today at the Tower of London (Kate Stewart's UNIT base). Jemma Redgrave, Jenna-Louise Coleman and Ingrid Oliver (new guest star) were the only ones spotted on set. The BBC have released a video showing them filming the scenes.

 

Noteworthy:

Ingrid Oliver's costume includes a scarf very familiar to that worn by a certain Tom Baker.

;)

Oh Ingrid is FAB! *.* I've only seen her on The Great Comic Relief Bake Off but I imagine she'll be excellent! This is all far too exciting, far too early!

I've never heard of her before :lol:

 

They've also been filming in Trafalgar Square today, with

Matt Smith being 'picked up' (hanging onto the bottom of the TARDIS) by UNIT

.

Ooh, does he know what monsters/villains they were? Could be for something different to the show, because the current run finished filming in November, and the 50th Anniversary only started filming a week ago, but in desolate hilly locations.

 

oh in that case I can say - it was THE villains in February, by the Thames. maybe it was promo stuff.

oh in that case I can say - it was THE villains in February, by the Thames. maybe it was promo stuff.

'THE villains'? Daleks? (they were out and about in London for Mark Gatiss' An Adventure in Time and Space)

That image! Matt's face! :lol:

Having just caught up with this, I can only echo the majority that this was really weak. I did love the aliens in the market and The Vigil. It all moved far too quickly as well, all the singing, almighty God, speech at the end just felt completely shoehorned in and together, was just really incohesive. It also didn't give enough time to anything which just made me completely indifferent to this girl because I wasn't completely sure what on earth was happening.

 

But IIRC the 2nd episode of a season is almost always complete filler (I know this isn't technically second and all) and I think next week is sure to be better.

There's two preview clips of Cold War available to watch now, plus Digital Spy have released the following ten teasers:

 

1. Expect to see the Ice Warriors as you've never seen them before...

 

2. "It never rains… but it pours!"

 

3. Fans of classic '80s pop music will find much to enjoy here.

 

4. "Am I speaking Russian?"

 

5. You know it's a Mark Gatiss episode when the script contains a reference to 'The Krotons'.

 

6. "Yes, I know - it's a woman!"

 

7. Was 'The Song of the Ice Warrior' a working title? Because it should have been.

 

8. "It's the '80s - everything's bigger!"

 

9. There's a very Doctor-ish vibe to David Warner's Professor Grisenko.

 

10. "I'm always serious - with days off."

It was nice to see the Ice Warriors back, but the whole episode was a bit of a let down for me, probably needed a better setting instead of a submarine. 5/10

It was all a bit slow paced, to be honest. There wasn't much action apart from a few 'shock moments', like when the Ice Warrior escaped its armour, and when it grabbed hold of Clara and the Professor. The Behind the Scenes for the episode was really interesting, though - it was a model submarine they used (not to scale at all, much smaller!) in a studio. :o

 

Anyway, Hide is definitely looking like it WILL be the best of the run (thus far). It looks really scary, much like the SJA episodes 'The Eternity Trap', yet scarier. Bring it on! :D

The Iccceee Warriorsss were always among my favourites so it was good to see them back. I liked the eighties references as well and several references to the Tardis's translation capablilities (even if it was at the South Pole :lol: )

 

Now, when do the Sea Devils return?

Best episode in ages. I'm biased but great monster, great setting, nicely riffing of Alien and a classic Who story archetype of stuck on a base/ship with baddie on the loose. Plus anything with David Warner in is a winner

The Iccceee Warriorsss were always among my favourites so it was good to see them back. I liked the eighties references as well and several references to the Tardis's translation capablilities (even if it was at the South Pole :lol: )

 

Now, when do the Sea Devils return?

If the Sea Devils came back, that would be brilliant! :w00t: Imagine a monster epic with them and the Silurians! :o