oh dear.....

 

its losing the plot, literally, its getting very repetitive with lots of noise and bright graphics (were all those sparks REALLY necessary? ) like the new theme tune its lost its mystery. the original theme sounded futuristic and mysterious with a hint of the universe thrown in.

 

tonights special was pretty lame, easily the worst episode since its ressurection.

 

dr who needs to get off earth... get out of earths orbit, get into deep space and find something exciting, mysterious and different , fire the imagination... the universe is a very big place!

 

oh and the kylie storyline was the billy piper one condensed into 1 episode... boooorrring.

Why make a topic just to slate it?

Agreed it wasn't the doctor's best but it by far wasn't the worst. I also agree the new theme tune was pretty awful, but i thought Kylie did really well, and did you even watch the Billie Piper storyline? I thought the trailer for Series 4 looked exciting new and great and i for one am looking forward to it!

Aww i thought it was great....It was a shame Kylie died...thought she was going to be in the series at 1 point :o :P

Appanrelty there is talk of her character coming back..

Mind you, if Rose can find a way back :lol:

Kylie won't come back. Filming Dr Who takes months; time Kylie doesn't have free, I'm sure. :lol:

 

I thought for an episode set in space - and given that the Earth-bound episodes are almost always better - it was pretty decent. Kylie acted just fine; she really suited the role. ^_^

I really liked it. Was the first Doctor Who episode that i've played full attention to for a while. Was very kiddyish which I felt really spoilt the episode however.

 

The only real main problem I had with it was how the feck did that guy who get shot manage to stay alive? Easily the worst piece of story ever. He gets shot at close range and looks pretty much dead yet he manages to survive the rest of the episode looking fine and even manages to salute at the end. Was totally stupid.

Was very kiddyish which I felt really spoilt the episode however.

 

This is the essence of the whole problem for me, the fact that "Dr Who" does seem to be becoming a bloody CBBC kid's drama for 5-10 year olds, and has been ever since David Tenant took the reins from Chris Eccleston.. Well, sorry, but this is what you have the "Sarah Jane Adventures" for, "Dr Who" should be a universal drama, that you can enjoy as a kid for the action and adventure elements, but look back on as an adult and enjoy the great storytelling (as the original series managed so brilliantly to do, and was actually happening on season one, but NOW, it just seems to be utterly immature....). Too many stories in the past two seasons have been completely uninspired, repetitive, noisy-for-noisy sake and not enough real plot meat has been in evidence... As far as I'm concerned there has been really NO current Dr Who storyline to match the standard of the brilliant "Empty Child" two parter back in series one.... Oh, but of course, the problem with that one was that it was "too scary" wasn't it (because of course a plot-line centred around the WW2 blitz should be all 'nicey nice' eh..)....? <_<

 

This episode was like a big, pretty, garishly coloured, fascinating looking box.... But open up the box, and, oh dear, not really much inside.... A bit of a disappointing christmas present.... :(

 

To answer the person who criticised Rob for starting a "didn't really like it" topic... Well, why shouldn't he..? Why should ALL topics started be all "happy smiley, everything's great"..? Rob wanted to stimulate debate and opinion.....

and given that the Earth-bound episodes are almost always better

 

But that's only because the ones set in space tend to completely rip off whatever Sci-Fi films happen to be showing in cinemas recently (the one in series 3 about the spaceship heading into the sun was a direct steal off of "Sunshine"...), or indeed stories from the original series.... Russell T Davis's attitude towards stories set off-Earth hardly helps matters and it is clear that he's only putting part of his effort into them.... <_<

My Review:

Doctor Who Christmas Special - "Voyage of the Damned" 25/12/07 18:50

 

Yes, this is not looking hopeful for Tennant's third series. The Xmas 'special' did have some nice effects, but way too many liberties were taken. For example the Host switching command to the Doctor, based on him being the next highest authority. Surely, that would've been a member of the crew, not a stowaway? Also the Midshipman being shot at close range by Geoffrey Palmer's Captain of the Spaceship Titanic being seriously injured, but still surviving.

 

On the plus note it was still superior to the other two Dr Who Xmas Specials.

 

Kylie was actually rather good in this (I loved the use of the Medical First Aid kit), botoxed relatively expressionless face aside. If you were an alien from another planet who had just watched that Dr Who special & bought her latest album X then you would definitely think she should stick to acting.... I'd prefer her character to Catherine Tate's Donna in Runaway Bride, but having seen the end preview for Dr Who Mk2 Series 4 anything would be better :angry: ..... I also thought that Clive Swift was outstanding in this and outshone everyone in the acting department. Also a great cameo from Bernard Cribbons as the newsagent (heavily rumoured on Dr Who forums to Donna's grandfather in series 4); whilst at least we know why Hyacinth Bucket's husband is so understanding ... he is an alien from another planet who is grateful just to be living in a house in the country on Earth. :lol:

 

But worst of all, this was at times direction less Poseidon Adventure rip-off nonsense. What I wanted, was writing that showed the depth of the Doctor, (as we had with Tom Baker & Ecclestone), allied with Tennant's (Patrick Troughton/Peter Davison-esque) fun. What we got was stuff that just did not work well enough in either direction. RTD just does not cut it as a writer as his scripts are too childlike, and too derivative of other TV/Film show storylines. With the next series featuring another annoying strawberry blond companion Dr Who is in very real danger of heading towards Sylvester McCoy with Bonnie Langford territory.

 

7/10

Why make a topic just to slate it?

Agreed it wasn't the doctor's best but it by far wasn't the worst. I also agree the new theme tune was pretty awful, but i thought Kylie did really well, and did you even watch the Billie Piper storyline? I thought the trailer for Series 4 looked exciting new and great and i for one am looking forward to it!

 

who are YOU?

 

as scott (grimley) points out, the idea of starting the thread was to debate/discuss what we thought about one of the most popular programme on tvs crimbo special.

 

nice to see the ADULTS who remember dr who of old are equally as dissappointed with it as i was. thisispop is spot on, worrying that the seriese is drifting towards 'sylvester mccoy/bonnielangford' territory... universally accepted as the worst dr who ever. its that style of dr who that got the programme taken off the air.

 

i have always liked the concept of dr who... being the only one here who SAW the very first episode i feel im well qualified to pass judgement! dr who was ALWAYS at its best when set in an alien/futuristic setting (although some of the recent historical settings have worked very well). this bloke can travel in TIME AND SPACE so why stick on earth?... ok some earthbound episodes are enough, but it limits the scope for imagination. space IS a fascinating place, and most of us with half an ounce of imagination has often wondered 'whats up there? what is it like?'

 

grimley is right, it IS turning into a cbbc programme, giving a quick fix for the young an unimaginitive (that isnt saying ALL young are unimaginitive).... it should be inspiring thought and wonder as well as entertainment. i find these episodes tawdry.... showy but lacking substance. this is a great shame as its an opportunity missed. bring back tom bakers writers...pre k9 anyway! lol that was not a good move!

who are YOU?

 

as scott (grimley) points out, the idea of starting the thread was to debate/discuss what we thought about one of the most popular programme on tvs crimbo special.

 

nice to see the ADULTS who remember dr who of old are equally as dissappointed with it as i was. thisispop is spot on, worrying that the seriese is drifting towards 'sylvester mccoy/bonnielangford' territory... universally accepted as the worst dr who ever. its that style of dr who that got the programme taken off the air.

 

i have always liked the concept of dr who... being the only one here who SAW the very first episode i feel im well qualified to pass judgement! dr who was ALWAYS at its best when set in an alien/futuristic setting (although some of the recent historical settings have worked very well). this bloke can travel in TIME AND SPACE so why stick on earth?... ok some earthbound episodes are enough, but it limits the scope for imagination. space IS a fascinating place, and most of us with half an ounce of imagination has often wondered 'whats up there? what is it like?'

 

grimley is right, it IS turning into a cbbc programme, giving a quick fix for the young an unimaginitive (that isnt saying ALL young are unimaginitive).... it should be inspiring thought and wonder as well as entertainment. i find these episodes tawdry.... showy but lacking substance. this is a great shame as its an opportunity missed. bring back tom bakers writers...pre k9 anyway! lol that was not a good move!

 

 

I deffo get the extremely bad impression of a possible "McCoy/Langford" flashback as well with Tenant and Tate taking the reins, Tenant's been practically doing an impression of Sylvester McCoy for the past two seasons and Tate is probably one of the most irritating BBC "comediennes" ever... People totally bum Catherine Tate, and frankly I dont get why, her show is probably even more over-rated than "Little Britain"... She's a completely one-note actress as well, her character in Dr Who just seems to be the "Lauren" character grown up, oh dear....

 

This show has just totally lost its way, beginning with being so fresh and exciting when it started with Piper and Eccleston, and then bringing in Capt Jack (who has gotten a wee bit on the irritating side admittedly...)

I deffo get the extremely bad impression of a possible "McCoy/Langford" flashback as well with Tenant and Tate taking the reins, Tenant's been practically doing an impression of Sylvester McCoy for the past two seasons and Tate is probably one of the most irritating BBC "comediennes" ever... People totally bum Catherine Tate, and frankly I dont get why, her show is probably even more over-rated than "Little Britain"... She's a completely one-note actress as well, her character in Dr Who just seems to be the "Lauren" character grown up, oh dear....

 

This show has just totally lost its way, beginning with being so fresh and exciting when it started with Piper and Eccleston, and then bringing in Capt Jack (who has gotten a wee bit on the irritating side admittedly...)

 

i agree about tate.... like little brittain just how many times is 'am i bovvered' funny? but i dont like captain jack.... leave him in the pitiful 'torchwood'. it would be nice to think we can win 1 battle without an all american hero to rescue us! :lol:

 

we need some gothic darkness back into dr who.... less of the effects and especially the noise, more mystery.....

grimley is right, it IS turning into a cbbc programme, giving a quick fix for the young an unimaginitive (that isnt saying ALL young are unimaginitive).... it should be inspiring thought and wonder as well as entertainment. i find these episodes tawdry.... showy but lacking substance. this is a great shame as its an opportunity missed. bring back tom bakers writers...pre k9 anyway! lol that was not a good move!

 

However, seeing as last night's episode drew a record audience for Dr Who Mk2 (the 5th most watched show of 2007), with more people watching an Australian Pop Princess in this than in the X-Factor final, then maybe BBC1 & RTD will think more of the same, catering for the lowest common denominator of the GBP, rather than for discerning people or real Dr Who fans...

I deffo get the extremely bad impression of a possible "McCoy/Langford" flashback as well with Tenant and Tate taking the reins, Tenant's been practically doing an impression of Sylvester McCoy for the past two seasons and Tate is probably one of the most irritating BBC "comediennes" ever... People totally bum Catherine Tate, and frankly I dont get why, her show is probably even more over-rated than "Little Britain"... She's a completely one-note actress as well, her character in Dr Who just seems to be the "Lauren" character grown up, oh dear....

 

Especially after Catherine Tate killed off her most famous & annoying character Lauren last night in a kayak going over a waterfall accident.

 

Especially after Catherine Tate killed off her most famous & annoying character Lauren last night in a kayak going over a waterfall accident.

 

never watched it tbh... Do you actually see it happening..?? Do you see that vile little chav's lifeless body face down in the water...? :lol: Might be worth a download if you do.... :lol:

 

never watched it tbh... Do you actually see it happening..?? Do you see that vile little chav's lifeless body face down in the water...? :lol: Might be worth a download if you do.... :lol:

 

Sadly no, they just cut to her funeral & her gravestone with the phrase at the bottom "I'm still not bovvered" on it.

 

Anyway, at least Catherine is getting in good practise for Dr Who when Rose (Billie Piper) returns, by being completed out-acted off the screen by a pop Star.....

 

George Michael Catherine Tate Christmas Show 2007

However, seeing as last night's episode drew a record audience for Dr Who Mk2 (the 5th most watched show of 2007), with more people watching an Australian Pop Princess in this than in the X-Factor final, then maybe BBC1 & RTD will think more of the same, catering for the lowest common denominator of the GBP, rather than for discerning people or real Dr Who fans...

 

sacrificing depth for popularity..... nothing new there is it.. <_<

it wasn't as good as i expected and i agree with what grimly says about it becoming more and more for the younger audience, i would give it a 8/10 but i was expecting 10/10 which i normally give every episode :(

 

i'm also not looking forward to seeing Catherine Tate in the next series, but I can't wait to see Billies return :)

sacrificing depth for popularity..... nothing new there is it.. <_<

 

 

Probably why Stephen Moffat (who writes by far the best episodes) has pretty much jumped ship and gone off to do his own, excellent, thing ("Jekyll")..... -_-

 

Dr Who desperately needs another Terry Nation to come in and sort out the mess....

This was the second time I actually watched Doctor Who. (The 1st being the last xmas special :lol: ). Sorry, but it is utter $h!t. It's all to, over the top maybe? Like they rely on special effects rather than an actuall story line. Oh, and also the fact that I detest David Tennant as an actor, and a person. Theres something really naff about him that kills the whole moment. :lol: I always thought Doctor Who was a real serious programme, where the characters where suppose to scare or when it had a massive complicated plot that got you thinking. Not something that my little brother would watch. :rofl: