97

 

Nightmare in Silver

 

http://www.cultbox.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/cyber%201.jpg

 

Although it comes from my second favourite series, I'm really glad this has dropped out as early as this. It should have been an amazing episode because we were all still high on how amazing Neil Gaiman's first script for the show was. 'The Doctor's Wife' had everything, but this had basically nothing. The return of the Cybermen (and in a new design) should have been terrifying and brilliant and amazing all rolled into one. Gaiman attempted to do something spectacular with them and make them the "silent nemeses" but he flopped on his arse and didn't deliver really well at all with this. Yes, they became more ruthless than ever in that they could do basically anything - walk through water, shift between spaces in a matter of seconds, etc. But it was all a bit of a farce. The idea of including children (two very young and excitable ones of that) in an episode like this that was driven so heavily on character was an awful idea, and the cringe ending with the Emperor asking Clara to marry him. Gaiman seriously must have been smoking something dodgy when he wrote this script. Poor, poor effort. Go back and think of something better.

 

Average 5.273

Highest score 8 (Jester)

Lowest score 3 (Regina, Heezus)

 

Hmm, both of them are good but not HUGE losses at this stage. Series 6 had far worse than Night Terrors though.

Fear Her really is awful. Good to see it so low.

Episodes involving scared kids are not good. Thanks for noting this Buzzjack.

 

Night Terrors was really the nadir of that awful series, cannot take it seriously at all, probably the second worst here after Love & Monsters.

 

Barely remember Nightmare In Silver but I'm not really a fan of dragging out old enemies for the sake of it. Even so, though I have a distinct feeling it was okay, surprising given the Cybermen are normally awful.

I don't like much any of the episodes out so far, great results! Hopefully A Christmas Carol & The Doctor, The Witch and the Wardrobe are to follow. And Closing Time, where's Closing Time? :puke2:

Edited July 26, 201411 yr by Heezus

Episodes involving scared kids are not good. Thanks for noting this Buzzjack.

 

Night Terrors was really the nadir of that awful series, cannot take it seriously at all, probably the second worst here after Love & Monsters.

 

Barely remember Nightmare In Silver but I'm not really a fan of dragging out old enemies for the sake of it. Even so, though I have a distinct feeling it was okay, surprising given the Cybermen are normally awful.

The biggest shame about the Cybermen is that they were uniformly great in the old classic series but since the new series they've been treated really badly with terrible ideas and poor stories

96

 

The Curse of the Black Spot

 

http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac14/theoryofillusion/CAPSPAMS/DOCTOR%20WHO/6x03/6x03tcotbs3.png

 

Glad to see this didn't fall victim to too many -1's. Coming from the perfect series of the show, 'The Curse of the Black Spot' is next to fall and I don't particularly understand why. It's not the best episode of the show, nor is it near my top five from the series, but it's a lovely episode. Some of the moments in the episode that are supposed to be funny just... aren't. Some of the magic in the episode, IMO, is ruined however when they get into the 'hospital' towards the end of the episode. I mean, it's a nice enough idea wholly, but did it really need to be the case that this beautiful monster from the sea was in fact a doctor? And Rory coming back to life after several failed attempts at resuscitating him, lol okay then. This story was filled with a fair few plot holes (what on earth happened to Boatswain? We still don't know... :unsure:) but it was really enjoyable and it was great to see Madame Kovarian make a cheeky little appearance mid-way through!

 

Average 5.364

Highest score 9 (Iz~)

Lowest score -1 (April)

 

I don't think I saw that episode.

 

Ahhh was hat with the pirates? I avoided it for looking too cheesy/ for kids/ Pirates of the rip. So there was another doctor?

 

How could they hope to build suspense killing either Rory or Amy every other episode? We knew they'd pop right back up, like on Charmed :rolleyes:

95

 

A Town Called Mercy

 

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ma86ndeAkC1qbynzfo1_500.jpg

 

This was the episode where we finally saw a bit of the Doctor's dark side coming out (again). Following on from killing Solomon in 'Dinosaurs on a Spaceship' the Doctor seems merciless and unable to stop himself from making decisions that impact on the people around him. Amy's wise words stop him from going any further than he would have, but in the end the Doctor lets a fierce villain kill himself for the better good. The episode is, on the whole, quite an interesting one from Toby Whithouse, different to what he's done before anyway. It's not his best piece of work at all. I don't really know what to think of this when I watch it on DVD. I've tried to several times, but it's just not a strong episode. The comedy is alright I guess (not as cringey as other episodes I suppose) - the Doctor speaking horse is very good. And the end of the episode where the Gunslinger stood over Mercy as the Marshal was very well done. Hmm, it could have been better but it could have been a whole lot worse. What's your thoughts Iz?

 

Average 5.545

Highest score 10 (Iz~)

Lowest score 0 (Michael!, Regina)

 

You evil evil people.

 

I'm not even being a contrarian when I say those two episodes were the two I enjoyed the most of their respective series. Curse is probably more attackable because of a few plot holes but I really enjoyed the pirates and the aliens coming together, really unique idea for an episode.

 

Town Called Mercy however I will defend to the death. I normally don't like western settings and I was a little bit apprehensive at first but like most great Who episodes, there's a confined space for people to be trapped in, there's a clear and present sense of danger throughout, both Jex and the Gunslinger made some for some complex characters with a lovely moral debate, and then it had that glorious montage ending, with a tight plot all the way through. I don't understand why it isn't more loved. Probably the best episode the show has produced in the last 2 years.

I'm not even being a contrarian when I say those two episodes were the two I enjoyed the most of their respective series. Curse is probably more attackable because of a few plot holes but I really enjoyed the pirates and the aliens coming together, really unique idea for an episode.

Really? That's my main criticism of the episode, in that it lacks original ideas. Therefore unique is probably the last word I would ise to describe it!

 

EDIT: Misread sorry, I'm guessing you mean the final part was a unique idea. I'll leave my point to stand for the rest of the episode even though that's not the point you were trying to make :lol:

Edited July 27, 201410 yr by Rabbit Heart

94

 

The Doctor, The Widow & The Wardrobe

 

http://deathstarpr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DoctorWidowWardrobe3.jpg

 

I really want(ed) to like this episode, but I think one thing I can gather from doing commentary for all the bad episodes that have been so far, it's that I really don't like when children appear to be central characters in Doctor Who. Chloe Webber, NO. Angie and Archie, NO (Angie's at least tolerable but the latter is bloody irritating!). The little ginger one from this episode, NO. Being shallow though, I only really liked Holly Earl in this because I loved her in Casualty. :kink: This episode dared to be cringe-worthy, and the fact that it also starred Alexander Armstrong made it all the more iffy for me.

The story was intriguing enough. The Androzani-Minor mention was a <3 moment, but everything else about it just fell short of being good in any way. Madge was an alright character, but I guess Moffat just tried a little too hard to do yet another Christmas fairytale, and the monsters were just godawful.

 

Average 5.818

Highest score 9 (Jester)

Lowest score -1 (April)

 

 

The Doctor, The Widow & The Wardrobe wasn't brilliant but it was better than A Christmas Carol.

 

A Town Called Mercy should definitely be higher!

Really? That's my main criticism of the episode, in that it lacks original ideas. Therefore unique is probably the last word I would ise to describe it!

 

EDIT: Misread sorry, I'm guessing you mean the final part was a unique idea. I'll leave my point to stand for the rest of the episode even though that's not the point you were trying to make :lol:

 

Yeah, that's pretty much it. It is a bit flimsy as an explanation but as an episode away from the main plot of series 6, which I've never been a fan of because of complications and overuse of timey-wimey, it was really rather enjoyable compared to spending 40 minutes trying to work out what River Song knows in this particular episode as opposed to the last time.

95

 

A Town Called Mercy

 

 

This was the episode where we finally saw a bit of the Doctor's dark side coming out (again). Following on from killing Solomon in 'Dinosaurs on a Spaceship' the Doctor seems merciless and unable to stop himself from making decisions that impact on the people around him. Amy's wise words stop him from going any further than he would have, but in the end the Doctor lets a fierce villain kill himself for the better good. The episode is, on the whole, quite an interesting one from Toby Whithouse, different to what he's done before anyway. It's not his best piece of work at all. I don't really know what to think of this when I watch it on DVD. I've tried to several times, but it's just not a strong episode. The comedy is alright I guess (not as cringey as other episodes I suppose) - the Doctor speaking horse is very good. And the end of the episode where the Gunslinger stood over Mercy as the Marshal was very well done. Hmm, it could have been better but it could have been a whole lot worse. What's your thoughts Iz?

 

Average 5.545

Highest score 10 (Iz~)

Lowest score 0 (Michael!, Regina)

 

Toby Whithouse created the brilliant series Being Human so that made this episode an even greater disappointment. It wasn't terrible, it just wasn't much good.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. It is a bit flimsy as an explanation but as an episode away from the main plot of series 6, which I've never been a fan of because of complications and overuse of timey-wimey, it was really rather enjoyable compared to spending 40 minutes trying to work out what River Song knows in this particular episode as opposed to the last time.

http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2013/141/c/0/river_song_timeline__series_4___7a_by_willbrooks-d4rw4v7.jpg

I enjoyed 'Curse Of The Black Spot', 'Night Terrors' and 'The Lodger'. Neither of them are the worst episodes, but are enjoyable.

 

Fear Her and Love and Monsters is awful as is the rest of Series 2 (apart from The Girl In The Fireplace) to be honest. Gutted I didn't vote here, but am hoping the rest of you Buzzjackers saw sense and voted 'The Empty Child' & 'The Doctor Dances' as the best episodes. :)

The thing I remember most about Fear Her is a vision of 2012 where Shayne Ward has a Greatest Hits album :lol: Other than that, it was a bit dull, child fear episodes always have potential to be terrifying, but never really are.

 

Nightmare in Steel was so bad, I love the Cybermen the first time around, and they were completely underused here, though I used to episode as a case study for one of my assignments and got a first for it, so I give it that much.

 

Others are fairly forgettable, I did like The Doctor,The Widow... though, was a very warm episode if not the finest of the specials.

The thing I remember most about Fear Her is a vision of 2012 where Shayne Ward has a Greatest Hits album :lol:

The scariest part of the episode tbh.

93

 

The Beast Below

 

http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Doctor-Who-The-Beast-Below-1.jpg

 

Should probably try and fire through a good few results today seeing as I will have very little time during the week. Up next is the second episode of series five, 'The Beast Below'. This is probably one of my favourites from the series. Not only does it explore a very different Britain on a spaceship, and the maintenance of power through the years, but it's also Amy's first trip in the TARDIS to a distant planet. The Doctor tries to keep her under control but finds himself unable to when she does the inevitable and saves the day (and the Star Whale) by objecting to the planet's everyday beliefs. Sophie Okonedo was brilliant in this episode, and I loved her cameo in 'The Pandorica Opens', as small as it was. The Smilers were all round excellent as well. Very creepy monster, even if they turned out to be less villainous in the end.

 

Average 5.818

Highest score 11 (Heezus)

Lowest score 0 (Michael!)