Dr. Who Series 8: Ep. 6 - The Caretaker [Spoilers]

Here it is folks, the time we've all been waiting for is almost upon us with the start of the new season of Doctor Who this weekend. Along with a brand spankin' new season of D.W it will also mark the entrance of Peter Capaldi's run as the new Doctor. I for one will find it rather difficult to see Capaldi in the role as it's so hard for me to separate Capaldi from the other popular character he portrayed on television, the foul mouthed spin doctor Malcolm Tucker from the bbc show "The Thick of It".

From the trailer they released a few weeks back to promote the show it sounds like the running theme will be a darker Doctor Who that's suppose to be a call back to old school D.W. Unsure if this can be accomplished with the same show runner (Moffat) leading the charge but I guess we can only wait and see.

Returning to the mix will also be Jenna Louise Coleman as Clara Oswald, the Doctor's faithful companion. From recent interviews during their premiere press event it sounds like the show will cut out with the romantic crap that's been seen often between the Doctor and his female companions and will stick to a more traditional straight laced mentor / student relationship old school fans are accustomed to. Will really be interesting to see how Clara reacts to a different Doctor and how their relationship will evolve in the future. Anyways enough ranting, hopefully I'll see some reaction when the first episode "Deep Breath" airs later this week.

For people who have ever thought of trying to get into Doctor Who and don't know where to start, I think watching whenever a new Doctor is cast might be the best place to start.

I hope they've dropped the fairy tale motif and gotten back to junk science. If the solution in the premiere is happy memories or love, I'm out until 13.

Me too, I seriously thought with a new Doctor they should of also replaced Moffat. No time like the better than to start the franchise off with a clean slate similar to when Moffat took over for Davies as show runner. Moffat can sometimes be too connected to the past and will try to make connections to the Doctor Who past just to appease die hard fans even though it doesn't make any sense.

I've been a Dr Who fan for decades, but am at least a good year behind (I think). I haven't felt extremely compelled to catch up in the last year, because I've gotten a little tired of the "Doctor is the center of everything and we must save the entire universe and all of time and existence in this episode!". I like the big story arcs, but I really enjoy the traditional "monster of the week" focus, too. I know they're trying to make the show have mass appeal, but if I wanted to watch a "relationship show" (and I don't), I'd watch all the bullshit on SyFy, like Warehouse 13.

I really enjoyed The Day of the Doctor. Except for the ending.

Moffant is great, and Matt Smith was a fantastic Doctor; but I also wish new talent would replace them while they are still on a high note from Day/Time of the Doctor rather than letting Moffat stay and eventually become old and stale.

this is absolutely what should have happened

That is a fantastic trailer. I literally cannot get enough of that trailer. I'm gonna watch it again.

I was a little bit weary at first; but everything I'm seeing about the new Doctor tells me there's some hope. So I'm going to play Devil's advocate and give Moffat a chance. The trailer really seems to be calling back to the mentor/student role between the Doctor and his companion. The romantic stuff was fine (for a while) with the 10th Doctor; however it got so oldwith Matt Smith. That stuff really needed to end sooner. I was pretty damned happy to see the slow turn in the dynamics between the 11th and Clara. It became more of a friendship, really (or at least that's how I saw it). And that's what got me back into the end-season stuff. It was freakin' refreshing. SO! Here's to hoping fellow Whovians and Duders.

For those who don't know, an edit of the premiere episode was leaked online. It's in black and white and several CGI elements are either missing or are in the early phases of being rendered. Don't want to ruin the episode for you, but I've got some bad news if you are hoping for signs of actual sci-fi being reintroduced in the series. It's still all about personal stories of the characters on the show with time travel, space, robots, etc. in the back drop. I have the feeling though that love/good thoughts/the human spirit will stop being a deus ex machina; at least it won't be as prevalent as it was during Smith's run. Capaldi's Doctor is a more refined and mature portrayal compared to Smith, Tennant, and Eccleston. Jenna Coleman is basically my dream wife, so take it with a grain of salt when I say she is perfect.

@andorski: Man that kinda sucks. Hopefully it won't be the trend going forward. I like some of the personal stuff but never felt it should of been the main thing to that series. I'm also kinda revved up about the possible idea of the re-introduction of The Master. I mean Gallifrey has returned so why not the Master.

I actually really like Moffats approach, connections to previous Doctors and events ala series (not the UK version of the word) long narratives. That's what made River Song such a compelling character. That and the fact that she and The Doctor never met in linear order.

I'm still watching series 2.

I really hope this season is good. I've loved this show so much in the past, but last season was SO bad (mostly). This season's got 3 episodes to get my attention or I'm out until Moffat's gone. I think he's falling apart as a writer/showrunner, as the recent seasons of both DW and Sherlock were both terrible compared to previous ones.

"Where are we going?"

"Into darkness..."

Such a cheesy line, I love it!

I think Moffat brought some very interesting concepts into Doctor Who. Such as the weeping angels and River Song during the Tennant era.

However, I felt they lost so much once they were fleshed out. River Song started off as this idea of someone who was larger than the Doctor and that the tragedy was that we were seeing a River who was in love with a Doctor that loved her, yet it was never that Doctor she met.

I think we've seen River's time line play through the show, and the most I ever got out of the Doctor/River relationship was that 11 simply put up with her; there was no actual love, just an infatuation on River's part. If anything, it felt like 11 was annoyed with her if she wasn't behind bars.

I liked Matt Smith, but I think we got too much goofy Doctor. I have a feeling (I hope) that a lot of the past few seasons were written for Matt Smith's Doctor and that the feel of the show will change with Capaldi.

I've enjoyed pretty much all of Doctor Who since the relaunch and I'm excited to see where it goes with the new guy. I'm certainly not going to expect things to change as drastically as some are hoping within the first episode.

Excited as hell, I've enjoyed most of what Moffat has done. Though I am really curious as to how this new Doctor goes down the dark path. I wonder if he'll become the Valeyard. Lets not forget that in the original Doctor who, The master said that the Doctor became darker between his 12th and 13th incarnation. Technically, this is the 12rd Doctor( 13th if you factor in the war doctor) so my theory may very well be possible.

Either ways, I'm on board with this.

Wow I didn't realize is was happening so soon, I was actually just thinking about this the other day. I kind of stopped watching after series 3 for whatever reason and couldn't get into the Matt Smith series so I'm kind of excited to start watching again, especially with a new Doctor. How are series 4 to whatever one it's on now?

The more I think about it, the more I think that the whole River thing was a load of shit. I think that there was a lot of potential with her but by the end of her story I had completely forgotten what the point of her was.

Series 4 has one of my favorite companions. It seems like the opinion on Donna is pretty split among the DW fanbase, but she ranks highly with me. She is the most outspoken companion; she calls out the Doctor on some of his BS compared to Rose and Martha who were much more subservient due to being romantically interested in him. The Doctor/companion relationship is completely plutonic. They act more like brother and sister, with David Tennent and Catherine Tate having good comedic chemistry with one another.

The series also has some memorable episodes. "Midnight" is a great physiological thriller episode. There is also a two part episode that introduces a character that is integral to the show up to series 7. IMO, this character was kinda ruined in later series, that doesn't take away from the strong start it the two parter. The finally also has a lot of callbacks to things from series 1-3, which is good or bad depending on how you view fan service.

The tl;dr version of what I think is that series 4 is great so long as you have been a fan of the prior series, but I don't think it will change your mind if you weren't high on the show up until then.

Just finished the first episode...

I thought it was pretty great and the Matt Smith cameo felt right to me (I'm sure others won't have liked it - but I thought it was handled well).

That said, I still can't watch anything with Jenna-Louise Coleman in it without thinking "Melia!" every time she speaks.

Edit - Also, their new intro-credits thing is bloody fantastic. I heard it was fan-made; and damn was it awesome!

Well, I thought the episode was a rough, but good start. Hopefully things start picking up in the next few episodes and we see Capaldi settle into the role nicely. I also appreciated the Matt Smith cameo near the end there. It just felt right.

Anybody have any clue who The Doctor's girlfriend is? The girl from heaven?

Was trying to put my finger on one of the last scenes where Clara was looking extensively at the Doctor's face cause it seems like I've seen it before. Figured out where

I wasn't in love with this one, but Capaldi's great, and the steampunk look was extremely enjoyable. And yeah, that new intro... absolutely awesome.

What was with the cartoon sound effect as a punchline to the "hit you like a piano" gag, though? I'm all for the silly side of the show, but... really? That and the electronic lock sound on the carriage both felt extremely out of place.

I thought this first episode this season was OK. Man, I miss the writing and stories of the David Tennant run. The Impossible Planet and Love and Monsters were some high points of the rebooted series. The 2006 and 2007 seasons were the best and nothing else has come close. For me, Doctor Who has always been about going on a Sci-Fi adventure. About being dragged along by the Doctor meeting equal doses of wonder and horror. Being brow beaten the last 2 series about the power of the human spirit is not what I am looking for. As a moral pillar of the show OK, as the driving force, no thanks.

The positive thing I took from this first episode was that at some point the Doctor basically says he is not one for hugs. Matt Smith spent more time hugging and fondling people than an 85 year old grandmother on ecstasy. I prefer a Doctor that can be loved or feared like David Tennant's or Tom Baker's Doctor. At least that looks to be in place.

Am I really in the minority as someone who hated the David Tennant run?! I prefer the long form arcs of Moffat I preferred the oldey world vibe whilst being young that Matt Smith brought David Tennant was too much and none of Davies attempts at arcs never felt fully realized and Doctor Who should never tell his companions they love them which he essentially never did!!!

I thought that episode was fun. I've never really been a big fan of Jenny, Vastra and Strax and the episodes they were in, but I really enjoyed.

My eyes *did* kind of roll when the first thing I saw was a giant T-Rex in the middle of London, though.

It was ok, but had a handful of great moments. The way they were vague about whether The Doctor killed the robot was interesting and the bit at the end was intriguing. I'm gonna assume she's another timelord. The way the fountain was in the middle and the pan out made it seem like the layout of the Tardis. Yeah, not great, but good enough for me to at least be interested.

I'd be super happy if River didn't turn up in this series, and me and Clara should probably get married immediately.

Dude that was River. Tho how she regenerated as a dead hologram is beyond me.

Her name was Missy.

She's the Master. BOOM.

If I'm right, awesome!

Really liked the new episode, especially all the new concepts they introduced. I don't know why people thought Moffat would throw everything out the window, he's doing what every other writer would do, building something new on the notions he already established.

Anyways, I quite enjoyed Capaldi's performance, he definitely has the crazy vibe All Doctors should have,, however, he seems much more darker this time around. I know Matt Smith's Doctor wasn't exactly an angle, but he definitely had a completely different feel to him. Plus, has anyone noticed how the tone has shifted? Even the score when Clara entered the Tardis indicated something much more sinister. Hell If we pay attention to how the Doctor acts, you'll notice just how much he has indeed changed. Speaking of which,I though the final confrontation was absolutely brilliant and intriguing as well, then again, every scene which questions the Doctors morality is always fantastic, so yeah.

Clara was also very enjoyable, you can really see that her character has come a long way. I kind of enjoy that she didn't ignore the fact that the Doctor changed too, I much prefer when she is written within human boundaries.

Oh, and more Strax please.

I didn't hate Tennants run, but the writing during his time is vastly inferior to Moffat's take on the Doctor. Tennant himself was great, but a lot of the flaws people point out with Moffat were present during Russell's run as well. I frankly find it a bit hypocritical at times.

Gonna be honest here...I thought the first episode was kind of lame. Spoilers ahead, I suppose...but if you're here then you shouldn't complain about spoilers...right?

1. Since when did T-Rex's stand like 200-300 ft tall? Typically they are 20-40'ish feet tall...

2. Why does no one in Victorian era London freak out about the fact a lizard lady and a potato man are walking around? Then they completely destroy it by having her in her veil inside because of Clara. I don't even...

3. We get it. You're married. You mentioned it enough. Also, the Torchwood like gratuitous kiss made me laugh.

4. Clearly Missy will end up being The Master.

The T-Rex seemed a bit forced and was not really necessary, I like to avoid as much crappy CGI as possible and keep it as grounded as possible. Also yeah he was as big as the Big Ben and somehow was able jolly walk around London without destroying the city. That and apparently Dinosaurs are made out of hot air balloons and are highly flammable.

@ravelle: Am I mistaken in that they never really explained the T-Rex's death? I mean, we know it was old robot aliens who did it, but never why. We assume it was for "Spare parts", but were those parts used on the ship because there damn well weren't any future clockwork robots running around with dinosaur parts.

Very lazy episode imo

I really liked it, i liked it better than "the christmas invasion", introduction chapters are never the best ones (although i like "the eleventh hour" quite a bit).

The only thing that felt a bit too much to me was the necessity of telling all the young fan base (particularly girls infatuated with Matt or David): "this is still the doctor, he may look different and even feel different but is the same character you love, if you really love him" . I thought the conversation between madam Vastra and Clara covered it well enough but it was brought up like 4 more times, that was the reason for Matt's cameo at the end, totally unnecesary, however i'm glad to have seem him as the eleventh doctor one last time.

Bottom line: cant wait for next week and the return of the scariest/silliest salt shakers in all of time and space

It was indeed vague. He was time travel repair droid out of control from the dawn of time that wanted to repair itself. Since he was there when dinosaurs were present he somehow became a dinosaur anatomy expert and knew he needed to extract the spinal something from it for something. He also mined humans to build his skin air balloon but no mention what happened with all the dead.

1. Fair point.

2. I assumed they've been living there for a while, and considering all the crap that goes around some of the people are already accustomed to it. Vestra even states herself that people consider her face as a deformity. Plus the Clara scene had a whole different meaning to it.

3. Didn't really bother me to be honest. *shrugs*

4. Really? Interesting though you got there, not my first guess anyways.

I didn't really thing it was bad, I thought it was pretty fucking great in fact,obviously it had flaws, but it did what the first episode should do IMO. It established the Doctors new character, his relationship with Clara, and his new, questionable morality.

@ravelle: Actually, that's a great way to describe the episode: "something, something, dinosaur, something, something, robots, something, something, inconsistencies, something, something, Doctor's new wardrobe."

No it wasn't, it was a very old robot who repaired himself to reach a paradise/heaven-like location, and during this time he lost himself. It's as simple as that.

I always give a new regeneration a chance but I didn't make it past the first 5 minutes. Goddamn you introduce a dinosaur in the thames and you pace things like that? I never moved beyond the Doctor being confused, which should have been established with about 2 lines of dialogue max.

I couldn't recommend this show to anyone.

You did yourself a huge dis-service when you stopped watching.

What is up with Moffat and fucking Dinosaurs?

Just got done watching it a little while ago, and I'm gonna reply before reading anything else in the thread.

I quite liked it, and I have to wonder what the end is going to lead into. The part where it loops back to Trenzalore, and the Doctor's speech about it still being him as well as him talking about the broom both reminded me of Theseus' ship. I think I would actually fall on the side of them ultimately, even after being (nearly, is some cases) completely replaced, being the same thing. I think I heard somewhere that the whole of a human body is replaced around every seven years.

Anyways, I'm also gonna say that I've always thought Jenny was pretty cute, but would it be odd to say that she's also always reminded me of a female John Drake?

If this sentence ends up ruining my nerd-crush on Clara, you, sir, will receive a stern yet polite admonishment!

Michelle Gomez as Missy got me so excited. Glad she's going to be a major part of the series. She's a fantastic comic actor and, if she does turn out to be a female Master, it'll be fun seeing her do sinister.

If you haven't seen her in Green Wing, you totally should. Here's clip somewhat relevant to the end of last night's episode.

http://youtu.be/grEggB5ghqk

Thought it was spotty in terms of quality but decent overall. The beginning was a complete mess though. Shouldn't have dedicated that much time to their really dodgy looking CGI. And the bit where the Doctor equates the cyborg (and himself) to Theseus' paradox was incredibly heavy handed. I mean he held up a mirror to both of their faces for crissakes.

I haven't followed Who closely since the season where Martha Jones was the companion but I still tuned in for this episode because I'm always curious to see how a new Doctor fares. I love Capaldi as an actor and I like him well enough as the doctor but this episode was not doing much to hook me back in to the show.

Will say though that last scene with Missy did intrigue me. I'm a sucker for a mysterious character and I adore Michelle Gomez. Could not think of a more perfect counterpart for Capaldi, if that is indeed what her character is.

@theacidskull: Congratulations on not really reading anything anyone actually typed out. +1